How Sedation Dentistry Can Ease Your Concerns About Pain
If you prefer to avoid the dentist, sedation dentistry should be of interest to you. No longer do you have to power through a toothache until the pain surpasses your worries regarding the dentist’s chair.
Sedatives help to remove anxiety and eliminate pain from your dental procedure. Better still, you get to go home with after-care instructions that cover pain management during recovery. If this sounds appealing, read on to find out how sedation can help to level up your oral health.
About sedation dentistry
Dentists use anesthetics to numb their patients and eliminate pain during dental procedures. They will usually start with topical numbing gel to prevent pain as they inject an anesthetic. Anesthetic is usually enough to deliver pain-free, uneventful procedures for some patients.
Many more patients get anxious whenever they have to see the dentist. The smell of certain medicines will set them off, making it near-impossible for them to stay calm. These are good candidates for sedation dentistry. Depending on their anxiety level and the type of procedure the patient needs, a dentist would choose one of the following types of sedation:
- Laughing gas
- Oral sedation, which involves taking a sedative in pill form before a dental procedure
- IV sedation, which involves injecting a sedative into the patient’s bloodstream
- General anesthesia, which involves keeping the patient unconscious for the duration of the procedure
The effects of laughing gas wear off in minutes, leaving adult patients with the capacity to drive themselves home. It takes longer for the other kinds of sedation to wear off. Here is how sedation helps with pain management and nerves:
1. Sedation eliminates anxiety
Dentists make it a point to administer enough anesthetics to prevent pain and discomfort during a procedure. An anxious patient knows this, but the knowledge may do little to remove their anxiety. This fear can make for a longer, more complicated procedure that will only compound the patient’s fear of the dentist.
Enter sedation, with nitrous oxide (laughing gas) being the most common option. Laughing gas complements local anesthetic to create a smooth, pain-free experience in the dentist’s chair. The gas produces a numbing effect while lifting the patient’s mood. This eliminates anxiety and calms the patient, allowing the dentist to work without interruption.
2. Some forms of sedation also numb pain at the same time
IV sedation renders a patient partially unconscious, hence its other name: deep sedation. Under IV sedation, the patient will have little awareness or memory of their treatment. Deep sedation helps with pain relief while working in concert with an anesthetic. General anesthesia is also another way to prevent pain during an extensive dental procedure.
We offer pain-free, uneventful dental procedures
Our dental practice is the kind of place that will have you proactively booking a dental appointment with zero fear. Get in touch with us so that we can deliver dental care and manage your anxiety at the same time.
With the help of sedation dentistry, we provide an experience that changes your outlook on dentists. Call or visit our Tucson clinic to set up an appointment with our dentist.
Request an appointment here: https://www.casasadobesdentistry.com or call Casas Adobes Dentistry at (520) 365-0559 for an appointment in our Tucson office.
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