Stopping Anxiety With Sedation Dentistry
Most of us have experienced unexplained anxiety before a dental appointment
. This may happen when we are just having a planned consultation for cosmetic dentistry. Some of us may put off having necessary dental work done due to the anxiety we have when going to the dentist. This can be dangerous since experts have determined that an unhealthy environment in the mouth can be detrimental to our overall health.
We may have gotten this fear of going to the dentist honestly since dental practices in the past were often painful and involved seeing and spitting our own blood. Preventive dentistry was practically unheard of when many of us grew up in the sixties so the only time most people went to the dentist was when they were already in pain. Although numbing agents were available and most of the time the pain was bearable, a visit to the dentist was far from a pleasurable experience for most of us in those days.
Improvements in the field of dentistry and orthodontics have allowed our children to have a much healthier and pleasant relationship with their dentist. Many of us still have our own teeth, instead of dentures as many of our parents and grandparents had to wear due to the poor condition of their teeth. Granted, those of us who were children of the sixties may not have the pearly whites that we desire but with the advantages of cosmetic dentistry we can achieve a winning smile.
The only thing holding many of us back from improving our smile with cosmetic dentistry is that old fear and anxiety that we have of dental procedures. If just knowing that most dental procedures are practically painless these days is not enough to alleviate our anxiety, sedation dentistry is available for cosmetic dental procedures.
In the past, sedation dentistry was only used for procedures such as the extraction of wisdom teeth or lengthy procedures for children that were medically necessary. Today sedation dentistry can be used for even minor cosmetic dental procedures when anxiety is a problem for adults wanting the procedures done.
The most popular form of sedation dentistry used to relieve anxiety and pain is laughing gas. The blend of nitrous oxide and oxygen is used by many dentists to calm their patients sometimes in conjunction with a local anesthetic during necessary and cosmetic dentistry procedures. Laughing gas helps the dentist work on people who gag very easily, since it usually eliminates the gag reflex. The patient is conscious during the procedure but very relaxed, which is a great way for the dentist to monitor the patient's health during the procedure since the patient is awake and able to speak.
Other methods of oral conscious sedation dentistry involve the patient taking a dose of relaxing anti anxiety drugs such as valium. This is enough to calm the anxiety of most patients and leaves them conscious but relaxed during the procedure. IV conscious sedation is also available for very anxious patients, and it a good choice for some people. Like the other methods mentioned previously, the patient remains conscious but very relaxed using the method of sedation dentistry.
Sedation dentistry can make complicated dental procedures much easier for the patient and the dentist. Special certifications are needed by any dentist using sedation dentistry so be sure to check with your dentist to see if they offer this method.
by: Frank Adams
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