Many people fear the dentist and as a result skip regular appointments to keep their teeth and gums healthy. Someone who fears the dentist may even avoid cleaning appointments for fear of discovering what work they might need. Fears of the dentist range from fear of pain, to discomfort with having work done in your mouth, to fear of the entire experience. The bottom line in these cases is fear prevents some people from necessary dental health care. And, they only wind up at the dentist in urgent care situations where the pain outweighs the fear.
This is why I offer sedation dentistry. Sedation dentistry allows me to put fearful patients at ease, allowing us to do the necessary dental work to keep their teeth and gums healthy. I offer a few levels of sedation dentistry. This includes a range from light sedation with nitrous oxide to relax patients during procedures to IV sedation where the patient is more sedated for a lengthy procedure. With IV sedation, patients are still awake and I am able to adjust the level of sedation as necessary. I also offer oral sedation, which is a pill which offers minimal to moderate sedation for patients who do not feel like they need IV sedation but could use a little more than nitrous oxide. And, if a patient requires full general anesthesia for a procedure, I work with an anesthesiologist.
Understanding sedation dentistry can be the difference between someone caring for his or her teeth properly. If you have a fear or anxiety about dental work and are not caring for your teeth, nothing good can come from that. You have sedation dentistry in your corner at our practice if the need arises, so it’s ok. Let’s take great care of your teeth and gums.
