At times in life, we put off getting the health or dental care we need because of our fear and anxiety. Sometimes we don’t want to make an appointment with a provider because we don’t want to acknowledge any health concerns we have. Other times, we’ve had experiences with past work or treatments that have left us traumatized and not looking forward to repeating a painful time.
When it comes to our dental health, far too many people put off making timely appointments and getting the oral care treatments we need. So much of the work done in the dental office seems to result in discomfort, from shots of local anesthetic to extensive work cleaning teeth to drilling for cavities. For people who are extremely sensitive, having to undergo these procedures can be extremely difficult. Fortunately, sedation dentistry can provide a far better experience and approach.
The Sedation Dentistry Process
Oral Conscious Sedation (“OCS”) is a reliable and safe way to alleviate or lower feelings of fear and anxiety that a patient might have. With this process, the individual typically receives a small dose of Halcion, which has parallels to Xanax and Valium. It’s also notable that it takes effect more quickly and moves through and is eliminated from your body faster. This helps limit and reduce the duration of after effects.
This regimen has been used safely over a half million times by licensed practitioners. The medication also provides a slight amnesic sort of effect, which is a distinct benefit for patients with anxiety. They may feel that a long appointment, for example, only lasted for a half hour or so. The medicine is administered in the form of a crushed pill, and no IVs are used.
Re-Writing the Dental Experience
Often patients who have severe dental anxiety or fear find that a difficult experience when they were younger got written into their body and memories. When they go in for treatment, even as adults, that experience and trauma get triggered and they react strongly to the past event. This leads to an understandable fear of the upcoming procedures.
Because of the amnesic effect with sedation dentistry, the patient records a pleasant experience that has no trauma or trouble. Thus, when they look to book a new appointment in the future, their reaction is likely to be less anxious because the most recent work they had done was pleasant in nature.
Able to Combine Multiple Procedures in One Appointment
If a patient has been extremely anxious and fearful of dental work, they may have put off needed oral care for quite a while. As a result, they may have many different treatments that have to be done. With sedation dentistry, it’s possible to have the patient in for a much longer appointment where multiple procedures can be performed.
Having the ability to take care of a lot of oral care items in a single visit further reduces the stress and anxiety a patient experiences. Once they are sedated, time is sort of bendable and there is no conscious understanding of the amount of work being accomplished. As a result of being able to have much longer appointments, the patient needs far fewer visits to get everything completed. This further reduces their anxiety level.
If you have put off dental care because of anxiety and fear, sedation dentistry offers a great solution for you. In the hands of a highly skilled dentist, this alternative will leave you feeling peaceful and dramatically reduce future levels of anxiousness too.