Many people experience anxiety when faced with going to the dentist. Some deal with fear so extreme that they avoid the dentist, something that can potentially compromise the health and function of their teeth. Sedation dentistry offers anxiety-free treatment, says virtual dental care in California, a relaxing experience for individuals who fear the dentist or those undergoing longer, complex dental procedures.
Sedation dentistry allows your dentist to administer sedatives before or during dental care, helping patients relax during treatments. Dentists use sedatives to safely perform services such as cosmetic dental procedures or tooth extractions on patients mentioned by virtual dental care in California. NDIS participants can contact a specialist support coordination team to connect them to the best sedation dentistry offices nearby. For patients, sedation dentistry is a relaxing alternative to experiencing dental procedures. Patients often have no memory of undergoing procedures and feel no fear or anxiety while in the dental chair.
Types of Sedation
Virtual dental care in California talks about the levels of sedation used in dentistry procedures are:
- Minimal sedation – you are awake but relaxed.
- Moderate sedation (formerly called “conscious sedation”) – you may slur your speaking words and not remember much of the procedure.
- Deep sedation – you are on the edge of consciousness but can still be awakened.
- General anaesthesia – you are completely unconscious.
Methods of Administrating Sedation
Sedation can be administered in several different ways, including:
- Oral sedatives – Pills can be taken before a dental appointment or the night before to relax you. Oral sedatives only relax you and won’t help with pain relief, so you’ll still require local anaesthesia to numb the area being worked on by your dentist.
- Nitrous Oxide – Often called laughing gas, nitrous oxide is inhaled and will help you relax while staying awake. It doesn’t help with pain, so that you may need local anaesthesia.
- IV sedation – IV sedation involves administering sedatives via IV, although this sedation method is less common.
Benefits of Sedation Dentistry
Sedation dentistry offers patients many different benefits, says virtual dental care in California. One of the main advantages of sedation is that most patients only feel like a dental procedure last just a few minutes, even if it took a couple of hours. This makes it a perfect option for more complex dental procedures, such as extensive rebuilding or smile makeovers. Since patients can withstand long periods in the dentist’s chair, procedures that often require multiple visits may be performed more quickly in fewer appointments.
Another benefit of sedation dentistry is that it can help patients overcome their fear and anxiety to remain comfortable throughout routine exams and more complex procedures. This makes it possible for those with extreme dental phobias to get the routine care they need so they don’t ignore their oral health and end up with severe oral health problems in the future.
In some cases, sedation dentistry may benefit individuals with special needs or disabilities. For example, some individuals with autism, Down syndrome, and other special needs may have difficulty with dental appointments. Sedation can keep them calm and relaxed, so they’re able to get the care they need to maintain a healthy mouth and smile.
Sedation dentistry may be beneficial to many different patients for a variety of reasons, say virtual dental care in California, including:
- Oral nerves that are particularly sensitive to dental work
- General anxiety disorder
- Bad experiences with dental procedures in the past
- Dental phobias
- Resistance to commonly used local anaesthetics
- A smallmouth that gets sore during routine dental work
Dentists widely use sedation dentistry for someone very anxious or unable to sit still for long periods. It is also used for long or complex procedures. Sedatives can be administered in different ways. First, they put the patient in a state of drowsiness or deep relaxation, which enables the dentist to complete the procedure quickly and efficiently. Sedation also produces a mild amnesiac effect, which means you will have no memory of the treatment and will consequently suffer less anxiety over the next visit.
