How A Seattle Dentist Uses Sedation To Give Patients A Healthy And Stress Free Smile
That’s why recent innovations also include sedation dentistry. It’s a great way for people with dental fear to get the care they need to have a healthy smile. This article looks at how you can enjoy a healthy smile without the stress of dental fear with sedation dentistry from a Seattle dentist.
What Is Sedation Dentistry?
Sedation dentistry involves the use of sedatives to relax or total sedate a patient medically before performing a dental procedure.Originally, this involved an intravenous drip, but many patients found this as frightening as having a dental procedure without the sedation so it wasn’t much help. Luckily, today’s sedation dentistry options are less invasive and more stress free, including inhalable sedation and medication sedation.
With sedation dentistry, an anesthesiologist stays in the room with you from the beginning of your dental procedure to the end to monitor your vital signs and ensure you experience no stress or pain while your dentist focuses on completing your oral care. Sedation can be used in any type of procedure, from simple cleanings to more involved tooth extractions. You simply fall into a deep, relaxing sleep and wake up refreshed with a healthy smile.
If total sedation makes you a little nervous, anti-anxiety medications and nitrous can help you relax during your procedure without falling totally asleep. In fact, sometimes a dentist can prescribe an anti-anxiety medication for you to take prior to your visit for a dental treatment, making your dental visit stress free even before you enter the office door.
The Benefits Of Sedation Dentistry
For patients with uncontrollable fears, sedation dentistry offers a positive way to ensure good dental health without experiencing fear.These fears keep a lot of people from visiting the dentist, which can cause poor oral health and the risk of needing more significant treatments than they would have needed if they had attended regular checkups and cleanings.
Sedation can also improve the quality of treatment, especially when it comes to accuracy and minimizing trauma. Patients with fear can often tense up or jerk away, involuntarily causing themselves harm. Sedation eliminates this potential as patients relax and dentists complete treatments quickly.
The Basis Of Dental Fear
Dental fear has many causes and can take many forms. Some patients are afraid of dentists in general while some fear the tools used in dental treatments. Other patients had a bad experience with a dentist in the past, usually as a child. Many patients with dental fear actually have an extreme gag reflex that causes them pain and anxiety during dental procedures that can be easily controlled with sedation dentistry.
If you have dental fear, don’t let it sacrifice your oral health. See a Seattle dentist for a sedation dentistry consultation that will ease your fears and help keep your smile healthy and happy.