Do you have anxiety about visiting the dentist, or does a family member have special needs that makes undergoing care difficult? To help our patients enjoy their time in the office and prescribe the care they need, we can offer dental sedation. In today’s blog, your Cerritos, CA, dentist talks about sedation dentistry.
The Reasons We Prescribe a Calming Agent
When do we recommend sedation for one of our patients? We may suggest this if you have dental anxiety. We know your fears about the dentist are real and we won’t downplay them. But we don’t want this to stand between you and the smile you deserve, so our team will offer an option. We could use this for people with special needs, which could often make undergoing even minor procedures a difficult process for you or your family member. We also recommend this for people undergoing more complex procedures. If you have a gag reflex that makes undergoing dental care difficult, this could be a solution to help you receive the care you need.
Common Procedures That Benefit from a Calming Agent
As we mentioned above, anxiety or special needs could mean even filling placements and dental cleanings could be a difficult process, and we could use calming agents to make treatment possible, and to ensure a positive experience. For we also prevent these for more complex procedures. For example, if we need to extract a wisdom tooth or conduct a root canal for an infected or abscessed tooth. These calming agents could also help with people receiving dental implants, as these are surgically inserted into the jaw (where they act like natural roots and last decades). We could use these options if you’re receiving a bone grafting procedure or a sinus lift to prepare smiles for dental implant placement and preserve your youthful facial features.
Choosing the Right Option for You
We often prescribe one of three different options, but which one will be right for you? To decide that, our team will take a number of different factories into account. For example, we will look at your medical and dental history, and assess your age and weight. We will also have trained anesthesiologists who can monitor you throughout the procedure to ensure you’re safe and comfortable.
Nitrous Oxide
Also known as laughing gas, nitrous oxide is a commonly prescribed treatment option for all ages, kids and adults included. The gas is administered through a mask over your nose. You inhale the gas and enter a calm and relaxed state. You will be conscious and able to respond to the dentist as needed, but will likely have little to no memory of the procedure. The effects can be adjusted throughout the treatment and they wear off as soon as the procedure ends. Which means you can drive yourself home, or even return to work or school afterward.
Oral Sedation
For a deeper state of calm, we could suggest oral sedation. You will need to avoid food and drink for the eight hours prior to the procedure. This is taken in a pill or liquid from before treatment. This helps you enter a deep state of calm. You’re still conscious, but less likely to remember anything of the procedure afterward. The effects will take time to wear off and you may feel groggy when the procedure ends. You will need to have a friend or family on hand to ring you home afterward. You won’t be able to return to work or school following treatment. We could also combine this with nitrous oxide, offering a more extensive state of calm and helping those with more serious phobias or a gag reflex.
IV Sedation
The deepest form of calming available is IV sedation, which is administered intravenously. You enter a very deep state of calm and will have no memory of the procedure. We often reserve this for people with severe phobias about dental visits. As with the oral sedation option, you will need someone to bring you home, as the effects take time to wear off completely.
If you have any questions about our approach to sedation dentistry, or about any of the complex oral surgical procedures we provide, such as dental implant placement or tooth extraction, then contact our team today to learn more.
SPEAK WITH YOUR CERRITOS, CA DENTIST ABOUT OUR CALMING SOLUTIONS
Our team wants to make sure your treatment experience is a comfortable one. To learn more about our calming solutions, then call your Cerritos, CA dentist’s office at (562)584-4082!
