It’s perfectly normal to feel nervous before a dental appointment. Maybe you feel a bit anxious because you don’t know what’s going to happen, because you’re afraid of what the dentist might discover, or because you find the sights and sounds of the dentist office unsettling. Rather than let your nerves get the best of… Read more »
Category: Sedation Dentistry
Why are Some People Afraid of the Dentist?
If you’re like most people, you may not exactly look forward to visiting the dentist, but it also doesn’t cause you any overwhelming distress either. However, there is a smaller but significant portion of the U.S. population that has such negative emotions associated with the dentist that they avoid receiving dental care until a problem… Read more »
The Sounds of Science: Noises You May Encounter at Your Dentist’s Office
The American Dental Association estimates that as many as 40 million Americans avoid receiving professional dental care because they find visiting the dentist extremely unpleasant. Dental fear and anxiety can be prompted by a number of factors, including unpleasant memories of the dentist, a fear of losing physical control, the influence of friends and family… Read more »
What Can You Expect from IV Sedation?
Dentists usually recommend IV sedation – anti-anxiety medication delivered intravenously via a small needle – for patients undergoing dental implant placement, wisdom tooth removal, or other oral surgery procedures. However, IV sedation also helps patients with profound dental fear and anxiety, a very sensitive gag reflex, or physical/neurological impairment relax during all types of dental… Read more »
A Brief History of Nitrous Oxide
Those few moments just before a dental procedure can be a little tense, even for people who normally wouldn’t identify themselves as “afraid of the dentist.” Your dentist can take the edge off of that anxiety with nitrous oxide, a safe, reliable method that’s helped dental patients relax since the 19th century. Today, we’re taking… Read more »
Does Sedation Dentistry Put You to Sleep?
Toward the end of the 20th century, the trend in dentistry shifted toward a more patient-focused approach to treatment. As a result, dentists refined their chairside manner, dental offices began boasting ergonomic exam chairs and gourmet coffee, and more practices began offering a variety of dental sedation options. Sedation dentistry reaches out to people who… Read more »
Three Groups of People Who Benefit from Sedation Dentistry
Have you ever wondered who goes in for sedation dentistry? This practice, sometimes inaccurately referred to as sleep dentistry, has helped dentists manage their patients’ discomfort during a procedure since nitrous oxide was first introduced in the mid-1800s. Since that time, the field has expanded to include oral conscious (pill) sedation and intravenous (IV) sedation… Read more »
Busting Two Common Misconceptions about Dental Sedation
You may have seen billboards around town advertising “sleep dentistry” or an “anxiety-free dentist,” and if you live with anxiety or fear associated with visiting the dentist, those promises probably seem pretty attractive. But are these guarantees too good to be true? Today, Shawn Hofkes, DDS, a Cerritos CA dentist with specialized training in sedation… Read more »
