Is dental anxiety holding you back from getting that beautiful smile you know you deserve? You have heard so much about the benefits of dental implants and you want to experience them for yourself. The problem, however, is that you don’t think you can bring yourself to sit in the dental chair for the implant placement surgery. If you feel like you’re being held back by this kind of fear, then know you’re not alone. Dental anxiety and dental phobia is extremely common. Fortunately, we can help by providing you with dental sedation.
Types of Dental Sedation
We are pleased to offer you dental sedation options that range from local anesthetic injections all the way up to general sedation. Our team has the necessary licenses and credentials to offer this comprehensive range of sedative treatments in a safe and calming medical environment. Before your treatment at our practice, we will have a relaxed chat with you to find out which kind of sedation will help you have a positive treatment experience here.
Local Anesthesia
A simple injection or two of local anesthesia is sufficient for most people who visit our practice for dental implant surgery. We will carefully administer the medication where it is needed, and then patiently wait for it to kick in before we begin working.
Oral Sedation
We can provide you with a prescription for an oral sedative in pill form that you will take about 30 to 60 minutes before your treatment. This medication will help take the edge off your anxiety and can even help the local anesthesia injections to be more effective if you are someone who has a hard time getting numb for dental treatment. Make sure that you have a trusted and responsible friend or family member accompany you to your appointment so that they can see you safely home afterwards as the effects of the sedation can linger for a few hours.
Intravenous Sedation
IV dental sedation achieves a similar level of sedation as the oral medication, but it gives us more control over how long the sedative lasts. We inject a controlled dose of the sedation into the IV port and it quickly goes to work. With the IV, we can quickly decrease or increase the dosage, as needed, for the duration of the appointment.
General Anesthesia (AKA, “sleep dentistry”)
This is the most profound type of sedation that will make you completely unconscious. You won’t remember anything after you wake up from your treatment. Dr. Craig Misch is fully licensed to provide this level of deep sedation, but we may still refer your treatment to a hospital for general anesthesia, if your medical situation warrants it. Your safety is very important to us.
The Benefits of Dental Sedation
Dental sedation allows us to help many people who would otherwise be too afraid to come forward and ask for the help they need. We’re confident that after a session of sedation dentistry at our practice you’ll say what many of our other patients have said time and again: “that was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be!”
The benefits of sedation dentistry include:
Help Overcoming Your Dental Anxiety
Sedation does more than help you forget the stress of dental treatment; it can actually help you work past the anxiety. A session of sedation dentistry helps you form a positive association with dental treatment and it will help you build your tolerance for sitting in the dental chair. Each positive experience makes it easier to take another step forward until one day, you no longer even need sedation and can confidently get the treatment you need.
Make Your Appointment Pass By Quickly
Even if you don’t normally suffer from dental anxiety, being sedated could make it easier for you to sit through a lengthy appointment where we perform multiple treatments. Some people choose to be sedated so that they can comfortably doze through the few hours to get all of their dental work done in one appointment. This is especially true with IV sedation; it will feel like just two minutes have passed instead of two hours.
Make Your Treatment More Comfortable
If you struggle to get numb from local anesthetic injections or if you suffer from a sensitive gag reflex or restless leg syndrome, then sedation can help make it easier to sit through treatment in comfort.
Contact Us Today
to schedule an initial consultation & exam.
We are happy to meet with you to discuss your dental treatment sedation needs. If necessary, we can coordinate your care with your primary dentist or another specialist, if you are being treated by someone else. Contact us so that we can schedule an appointment to meet with you and evaluate your dental implant treatment needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, dental sedation is generally quite safe as it is provided by trained, experienced, and licensed clinicians. This doesn’t mean that sedation is automatically safe for everyone, however. This is why we meet with you in a consultation to evaluate your dental and medical history and determine whether you are a candidate for sedation dentistry at our practice.
Sedation makes you feel relaxed and drowsy very quickly. You may experience a tingling sensation in your limbs. Depending on the level of your sedation and the way it affects you individually, you may have little to no memory of your treatment under the sedation.
Don’t worry, you won’t be “put to sleep” unless you are receiving general anesthesia, and this is only needed in very specific situations. Most dental sedation just helps you to relax without rendering you unconscious.
Yes, any time there is sedation involved, we will advise you to have a trusted companion see you home after your appointment. It is not safe to drive while your body is still experiencing the effects of a sedative (which can sometimes last longer than expected). You also should not plan to use public transportation on your own while your mind is in such an altered and vulnerable state. A trusted friend or family member can make sure you make it home safely and recover completely before you try to resume your normal day-to-day activities.
The primary effects of sedation should wear off around 2 to 8 hours after your appointment. It’s best to play it safe and plan to take the rest of the day off so that you can thoroughly recover before getting back into your regular routine.
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