Many people suffer from dental fear and anxiety to the point that they avoid even routine dental checkups and cleanings. Unfortunately, ignoring your oral healthcare can have dire consequences, affecting not only your dental health but your overall general health as well. If you are nervous and fearful of dental visits, you may be interested to learn about the benefits of sedation dentistry.
Sedation dentistry is a safe and commonly utilized option for dental patients to help them relax and undergo dental procedures without fear or apprehension. Your sedation dentist can offer a variety of sedation choices, and will likely suggest the option they feel best suits your needs.
Conscious sedation allows you to remain fully awake and able to respond to commands while enjoying a comfortable and relaxed state. Some of the options for conscious sedation include:
- Nitrous oxide, or “laughing gas”, leaves you feeling relaxed but responsive during dental procedures.
- Oral sedatives can be taken about an hour before dental treatment and provide their calming effects before and during your dental appointment.
- Intravenous sedation is administered through an IV and takes effect faster than oral medication. Your level of IV sedation is carefully monitored by your dentist and can be adjusted as needed.
Dental sedation allows you to undergo procedures as routine as a regular cleaning to more involved treatments like root canal therapy without anxiety and fear. You will remain awake but relaxed, and have little or no memory of your procedure. Consult with Longview sedation dentist Dr. DiStefano to find out more about how sedation dentistry can ease your fear of the dental chair and allow you to get the dental care you need.
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Fear can stop come people from doing certain activities, and sometimes it may impact a person’s health and overall wellbeing. One example is visiting the dentist. You might be surprised at the number of people who completely avoid dental care because they are afraid. As a result, sedation dentistry has become a popular way to allow nervous patients to get the necessary treatment without all of the negative vibes.
Sedation dentistry involves administering drugs to help patients relax. There are various levels of sedation available, depending on the patient’s needs, procedures, age, and medical history. Your dentist can help decide which sedation amount and method is most appropriate for you. It ranges from light sedation to simply take the edge off, moderate sedation that renders you unaware but still awake, or deep sedation that practically puts you to sleep throughout treatment.
There are also a variety of methods for sedation dentistry. Oral medications are swallowed, nitrous oxide gas is administered through a mask over your nose, or medications can be given through an intravenous needle directly into your veins. The method is recommended based on each patient’s needs and situation.
Dental sedation manages pain so that you won’t feel anything during treatment. Most patients do not remember much about what occurred while under sedation. That is especially beneficial for patients with dental fears, because they are more willing to return for future appointments since they don’t have any bad memories from the last one.
Sedation is safe and effective when performed by a trained dentist. Make sure that any dentist who administers your dental sedation is qualified and experienced with the techniques. There is no reason to avoid dental checkups and treatment due to fear or anxiety. It is much better to get care to correct problems before they worsen, or head them off before they start. Sedation dentistry enables patients to comfortably and safely obtain treatment and eliminate dental fears.
We treat patients from Longview and the surrounding area
Intravenous, or IV, dental sedation offers patients a way to remain completely relaxed while undergoing dental procedures. Those with dental phobias, severe anxiety, special needs, or other issues are able to obtain necessary treatment instead of avoiding trips to the dentist. IV sedation is an effective and safe process that makes you very relaxed and unaware of the dental work being done. You won’t even remember anything about treatment, allowing you to come away with a positive experience.
Becoming a candidate:
IV medications are delivered directly into your vein through a needle in your arm. You’ll need to schedule an appointment to discuss sedation with your dentist, and disclose any medical conditions and medications (both prescription and over-the-counter) you are taking. A thorough examination will be conducted, X-rays or other tests may be performed, and a discussion of all aspects of IV sedation is necessary to determine if this treatment is right for you.
Going to your appointment:
Arrange for a friend to drive you to and from your appointment, because you may feel drowsy at first. It is advised not to drive, return to work or school, or make important decisions for a day following sedation so that the medication has time to completely wear off. In some cases, your dentist may give instructions for fasting prior to your procedure.
During your procedure:
Qualified, well-trained professionals will be doing your anesthesia and procedure. You will be monitored the entire time to ensure your safety and comfort. The IV will be placed in your arm, and some patients request an additional method of mild sedation be used if needles are upsetting. When the dental work is complete, the sedation will be reversed and you will become more alert to go home.
Recovering from your appointment:
Follow all of the instructions from your dentist about after-care, which will vary depending upon your procedure. Any grogginess you might feel from the sedation usually wears off after a few hours, so plan on resting before returning to your normal routine.
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Sedation dentistry, also known as “sleep dentistry,” refers to the practice of calming and relaxing a patient prior to a dental procedure with the use of pharmacological agents. Sedation dentistry began in the late 1700s when a chemist named Humphry Davy began experimenting with inhaled gasses and first observed the analgesic effects of nitrous oxide, commonly known as “laughing gas,” on himself and on dental patients.
In 1844, an American dentist named Horace Wells used nitrous oxide as a dental anesthetic during the extraction of his own molar tooth. Wells made the observation that while he experienced very little pain while undergoing the extraction, he was still fully conscious during the procedure. A few years later, dentist William Morton and surgeon John Warren performed a public oral surgery at Harvard University, demonstrating the analgesic properties of a sulfur-ether compound, further proving that sedation dentistry should be explored further.
For years, trial and error procedures informed doctors of the safety of various levels of pain-relieving gasses. It was discovered that 100% nitrous oxide, when used in prolonged dental cases, could lead to hypoxia, a condition in which the body is deprived of the oxygen it needs to thrive, something that can eventually lead to death. Finally, a Chicago surgeon named Dr. Edmund Andrews began mixing nitrous oxide with oxygen, administering them simultaneously. This allowed for safer analgesic options for both surgical and dental procedures. Ether and chloroform, combined with some nitrous oxide, was later shown to provide deeper sedation for prolonged treatments.
Intravenous (IV) sedation began in the 1960s at the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry in California. Dentists there experimented with IV sedation for the highest level of management for pain, anxiety and fear for dental patients undergoing surgery.
Today, dentists routinely turn to sedation dentistry for their patients to relieve pain, stress and to provide the most comfortable dental therapies as possible. Talk to your dentist to discover the latest sedation dentistry options and to see how they can help you positively experience your next dental procedure.
If you need a dentist in Longview contact us today
Nitrous oxide, otherwise known as laughing or happy gas, is a colorless and odorless gas that you inhale through your nose. The effects of nitrous oxide are a relaxed feeling and diminished pain, making it an ideal sedation option for many dental procedures. Advantages of sedation utilizing nitrous oxide include:
- The effects of nitrous oxide make their way to the brain in mere seconds, and the pain relieving properties develop in just minutes.
- Your sedation dentist can alter the level of sedation during treatment.
- Nitrous oxide can be administered for the exact amount of time it is needed to complete the procedure.
- Nitrous oxide has no negative after-effects because it is eliminated from the body within five minutes after the sedation is stopped.
- Your sedation dentist has complete control and is able to give incremental doses of nitrous oxide, eliminating the risk of accidentally overdosing.
- No injection is required, making nitrous oxide a very attractive option for patients with a fear of needles.
- The relaxing effects of sedation with nitrous oxide is known to eliminate or reduce gagging.
- Sedation with nitrous oxide is considered very safe and has no negative effects on other organs of the body.
There are a few potential disadvantages of sedation with nitrous oxide, including:
- Some patients may not achieve the desired level of sedation with the maximum amounts of nitrous oxide allowed.
- Patients who are mouth breathers, have claustrophobia, or have difficulty breathing through their nose may not be good candidates for nitrous oxide.
- If you are prone to nausea or a sensitive stomach, nitrous oxide may not be a good option.
If you need a dentist in Longview contact us today
Sedation dentistry is often hailed as a solution to all of a patient’s problems regarding dental therapies. It can address anxiety, fear, stress and pain. It can provide a comfortable experience for the dental patient, allowing the dental professional to work safely and quickly. As with any pharmacological agent, there are risks, and before you agree to any sedation dentistry option, it is smart to educate yourself about some of those risks.
While single doses of oral sedatives such as Valium or Halcion are unlikely to harm a patient, there are concerns regarding multiple doses of these drugs that could potentially cause a patient to be overly sedated, or even completely unconscious. Because each patient has a different metabolism, drugs can take between twenty minutes and an hour to become fully effective.
These time-delay issues are not problematic for inhaled sedation or for IV sedation, as these types of sedation dentistry are effective almost instantaneously. For oral sedation, however, a dentist who administers more than one pill could cause an overdose if the medicine kicks in at the same time. Most dentists lack both the equipment and the training to effectively and quickly address an overdose in a patient who is unconscious.
In 2000, a group known as the Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation was launched. Its purpose is to train dentists on sedation dentistry methods such as how to properly monitor a patient during a dental procedure to ensure that their heart rates and oxygen levels are healthy. Despite this, there are still concerns about adverse effects of adults with oral conscious sedation. There have been no reported adult deaths from overdosing; however, some children have died from oral sedation, leading to the practice being recommended only for adults.
If you are about to undergo a prolonged dental procedure, or if you are considering sedation dentistry to address personal anxiety or a dental phobia, look for a dentist who has received training in sedation dentistry and has high levels of experience to ensure that your procedure is as safe and comfortable as possible.
Our dental office is located in Longview
