It is normal for parents to think about their child’s safety in all aspects of their wellbeing, even when it comes to their oral health. And when talking about dental procedures, especially the most complex ones, most dental professionals recommend sedation dentistry. Sedation dentistry is ideal for people with dental anxiety but children are not the only ones who have a greater fear of the dentists, a lot of adults actually do. This means that sedation dentistry is not only recommended for children, many adults can benefit from it as well. People have the tendency to put off their dental appointments or cancel them, but this is something that is strongly being discouraged by the dentists as it may just result in worse problems in the future.
If you are one of the many people who fear going to the dentist, then sedation dentistry can be for you too. Sedation dentistry can help patients overcome dental anxiety. It uses a class of drugs called sedatives in order to make a patient feel relaxed during the procedure. This also gives the patient a painless dental experience which helps in getting the treatments done on time and with fewer visits. The sedatives act by relaxing a person’s nervous system so that he feels calm and relaxed, though not necessarily asleep. When a person is under sedation, he can still respond to verbal cues. Sedation dentistry is the ideal solution to the individuals who suffer from a great fear of going to the dentist, so they can get their treatments without pain and discomfort.
There are three levels of sedation and they are the following:
- Mild sedation. In mild sedation, the patient gets to inhale the sedatives in the form of a gas or nitrous oxide, by having a mask to cover his nose. Depending on the amount of sedatives that the patient needs, the dentist can adjust the level of sedation being administered.
- Moderate sedation. Moderate sedation is done by getting the sedatives administered through intravenous medication. When you say intravenous, the medication is made to be injected into the patient’s bloodstreams. This offers fast effects as it can make the patient feel instantly relaxed and relieved from anxiety. Moderate sedation can also be administered through oral medication.
- Severe sedation. Severe sedation is seldom used compared to other two types because this is only needed when a complex procedure is about to be performed by the dentist. This is the only level of sedation when a patient will become completely unconscious. He will also not be able to recall anything about the treatment. The effect of the sedatives in this level will also take a while before wearing off.
Before the administration of dental sedation, your dentist will have to make sure that it is safe and appropriate for you and he can do that by gathering the following information:
- If you have any existing medications for which you are being treated.
- If you are taking any prescription medication from a doctor or an over the counter drug
- The types of food you are eating
- If you are taking any supplements or herbal medicines that may have a reaction of the effects of the sedatives
- Habits like smoking and drinking as these may have an effect or may influence on the effectiveness of sedation
Sedation dentistry has been very helpful and useful to both patients and dentist alike, which is why it has gained popularity in many places in the world. It has been a great solution to patients with extreme dental anxiety or phobia, as it helps them get through their treatments without any worry of pain and discomfort. Sedation dentistry offer many helpful benefits and some of them are the following.
- Patients will have an improved oral health because they will no longer have to put off their dental procedures simply because of their fears
- Patients with low pain tolerance can get their treatments done without pain and discomfort
- Dental sedation can help you save time and money because you can get your treatments finished with fewer visits.
For more information on sedation dentistry, call Celebration Family Dental (469) 607-8009, or visit us at 3720 North Josey Lane Suite 106 Carrollton, TX 75007.