Why sedation Dentistry helps You Fight Fear

Dental fear is often something that many people have. About 30% of the population does avoid going to the dentist because of fear. They’ll not get the proper dental care though, and often, it can compromise their health and wellness of both their body, and their smile. You don’t have to join in on that, because you can get sedation dentistry to help with this, and you can talk to your Kennewick dentist about this as well.

Now sedation dentistry is a process that will help to reduce the anxiety that you feel at the dentist through the use of sedatives. Sedatives are what will help to relax and reduce the pain in the body, and it can actually make it super relaxing for yourself. There are a few ways, such as laughing gas, mild sedation using medication you take before, or even IV sedation that’s used through an injection. Whatever you use, you should definitely consider each of these if you’re going to be sedated at the dentist.

The first, is nitrous oxide. That is laughing gas, and one of the most common ways to calm a person down and to reduce anxiety when you’re at the dentist. It is often combined with the other two. You breathe through a face mask, so you’re not getting any needles or a gag reflex. It doesn’t have a smell or irritate you, and within a few minutes, you’ll feel euphoria and no pain. Instead you feel almost tipsy and very peaceful.

Then there are anti-anxiety medications that are prescribed to you at the dentist. You take it before you go to the appointment, but you shouldn’t drive because often, these can make you super sleepy. What each of these pills do is they bind to the receptors in the brain that are responsible for fear and then it lowers it which will diminish the pain, sounds, and even the smells. It feels calming, drowsy, and you might even feel tingling and amnesia.

Finally, there is IV sedation. This is an injection that is put directly into the bloodstream by the anesthesiologist. This is an instant process, and it is great for shorter visits and even extractions as well. You actually might even remain conscious and respond to requests from the dentists at some points but the time will go very fast. You might feel very foggy and drunk afterwards, so you won’t want to drive. You might also notice that your memory is often a bit foggy as well.

Now, with IV sedation, this often requires a lot more preparing, so it might be saved for the procedures and such that do involve a bit more. You might not be allowed to eat before the appointment, only having food before midnight the night before. You can’t drink water either, so you might feel very dehydrated as well, but often this is to protect the patient because it can actually hurt them otherwise. You should follow all of the recommendations of the dentist and the anesthesiologist before you begin, for it can save your life.

Why should you choose this though? Why should you consider this? Well, you shouldn’t be in fear because you’re going to the dentist. The dentist isn’t fun, but if you’re fearful of it, it can lead to other oral health problems and the like if you’re not careful. If you don’t want future dental work, it’s advised that you do consider this form of dentistry, since it’ll help to create a comfortable experience where time seemingly flies. You might not even remember the appointment at all. Often, these procedures make it feel like you’ve only been there for a few minutes versus a few hours, and it will help to make complex appointments a lot faster, and the appointments much shorter for yourself as well. If you’re going to get some big procedures, you should talk to your Kennewick dentist about this, for they can help you ease into this, allowing you to not only have the best dental experience that you can, but also a sedation dentistry experience that will be helpful for yourself, and for your oral health as well.