Patient Notice - Friday, 20th August'21

Overcoming Dental Phobia with Conscious Sedation Dentistry

Overcoming Dental Phobia with Conscious Sedation Dentistry

June 1, 2023

Sedation dentistry helps keep you comfortable during dental appointments. Dental sedation is beneficial if you are affected by dental anxiety or scheduled for multiple procedures simultaneously. The options for conscious sedation dentistry include nitrous oxide, oral conscious sedation, and IV sedation. The dentist in Richmond Hill treating you must have certification to provide forms of sedation dentistry.

Sedation Dentistry Explained

Sedation dentistry helps calm your nerves to make you feel relaxed and at ease during dental procedures. The level of sedation is moderate to ensure you are technically awake and responsive but entirely relaxed. Occasionally it is called conscious sedation dentistry because it creates short-term amnesia, where you experience insensitivity to pain without losing consciousness.

Who Needs Sedation Dentistry?

People with dental anxiety and reluctance to visit dentists even for routine exams and cleanings are candidates for sedation dentistry. In addition, dentists often recommend dental sedation for patients with dental anxiety, sensitive gag reflex, fear of dental visits, needles, excessive teeth sensitivity, decreased anesthesia sensitivity, challenges controlling movements, and special needs.

Benefits of Conscious Sedation Dentistry

Anyone receiving conscious sedation dentistry requires minimal preparation besides inquiring with the dentist about the version of sedation they will receive. Some versions do not require any preparation besides arranging an appointment with the dentist for a specific treatment.

Patients receiving minimal sedation will express a euphoric feeling when they receive the sedation to calm their nerves and go through the dental treatment without fearing the noises or smells of the dental office.

Patients needing procedures like tooth extractions, root canals, or gum flap surgery will benefit from conscious sedation dentistry, which dentists prescribe to take an hour before their appointment. Patients arrive at the dentist’s office fully relaxed but awake to receive the treatment without fear. Conscious sedation dentistry ensures patients feel they are in the dentist’s chair for a few minutes, even after spending an hour or two in the chair.

Patients needing full mouth rehabilitation or extensive smile makeovers benefit from conscious sedation because it helps them remain entirely relaxed during their procedures without experiencing discomfort or fear at the dentist’s office.

Children fearful of dental visits also benefit from conscious sedation because the dentist suggests giving children oral medications to ingest before their appointment. However, except for routine exams and cleanings, most patients need local anesthesia to block pain impulses from the affected tooth or gums injected directly into their mouths after they are sedated. Fortunately, patients don’t experience the injectable because of the sedatives they receive before arriving at the dental practice.

Although they remain fully sedated during dental procedures, they are also responsive to queries by the dentist and can be awakened by a gentle nudge for their safety and cooperation.

Types of Conscious Sedation Dentistry

Varying levels of sedation dentistry are used depending on your unique needs. The dentist considers your anxiety level, the duration of your procedure, your medical history and your personal preferences when they discuss this option with you for relaxation. The familiar forms of sedation dentistry include the following:

  • Nitrous Oxide: also called laughing gas because it creates a euphoric feeling, nitrous oxide is the mildest form of sedation which requires you to inhale the gas from a nose mask to begin feeling calmer within three to five minutes. The dentist controls the sedation you receive and adjusts the dosage throughout your procedure. After completing treatment, you receive pure oxygen to flush the gas out of your system. As nitrous oxide dissipates quickly, you can drive home yourself without help from others.
  • Oral Conscious Sedation: you receive sedatives like tranquillizers, antianxiety medications, and muscle relaxants to take one hour before your appointment. Dentists use liquid sedation in pediatric dentistry for children with dental anxiety. Oral sedation makes you feel tired and even causes you to sleep. However, you can communicate with the dentist if required and be awakened easily with a gentle nudge. As oral sedation affects your memory and motor skills, you need a friend or family member to drive you home.
  • Intravenous Sedation: IV sedation is the most profound version of sedation in dental offices. Your dentist delivers sedatives directly into your vein in the arm and monitors your heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels during your treatment. Dentists can adjust the dosage of the sedatives, and most people receiving IV conscious sedation have no recollection of their treatment after they awaken. This option is optimal for patients with severe dental anxiety or who need extensive dental procedures.

How to Overcome Dental Anxiety with Conscious Sedation Dentistry?

The optimal way to overcome dental anxiety is to discuss conscious sedation dentistry in Richmond Hill, ON, with the dentist explaining your fears without hesitation and requesting dental sedation for your appointment. The dentist determines the level of sedation you need after discussing your medical history and personal preferences and considering your level of dental anxiety. They also provide instructions on preparing for your treatment and deliver after-care instructions depending on the version of sedatives you will receive for your procedure. However, conscious sedation dentistry eases your fears of the dentist, enabling you to receive minor or significant dental treatments without the all-too-common dental phobia.

If you fear dental visits, Richmond Dental Care can help you overcome your dental anxiety by suggesting conscious sedation dentistry. Discuss your fears with them as soon as possible instead of neglecting essential dental care to need extensive treatments later.

Call Now Book Now
Click to listen highlighted text!