A visit to the dentist has changed dramatically over the years; the older you are, the worse it probably seemed when you were a kid. And while dentist procedures and methodology have become much gentler since your childhood, it’s little wonder many patients find themselves facing heightened anxiety at the prospect of a visit to the dentist. Unfortunately, that anxiety leads unsurprisingly to fewer dental appointments – and that leads to increased prevalence of dental problems that might have been avoided with regular preventative dental care.

Fortunately, many dentists – including us – have adopted the practices of what’s called “sedation dentistry” to help patients who have fear or anxiety issues related to going to the dentist. Sedation dentistry complements our existing gentle dentistry’s best practices by adding a prescription medication to help patients feel more relaxed, even drowsy, during their visit.

Dentists who use sedation dentistry typically combine an oral medication with nitrous oxide gas inhalation — e.g., no needles — to induce this relaxed conscious state, and fully monitor their patients’ vital signs throughout the dental visit and whatever procedures present themselves as necessary. This allows patients to simply sit back and relax while their dental care is performed, without any of the usual anxiety they typically experience at the dentist.

Speaking of needles, sedation dentistry is also a helpful methodology for patients who might otherwise have little or no anxiety about a dental visit or procedure, but experience stress or discomfort at the idea of the injections often needed for pre-procedure numbing requirements. Sedation dentistry is also a good tool to have at our disposal for patients whose existing conditions make dental work uncomfortable, even with our gentle practices – patients with excessively sensitive teeth, for example.

For more information about sedation dentistry or any of the procedures we offer and methods we employ, please contact us today!