How Do I Know If Sedation Dentistry Is Needed?

If you fear dental visits, even for routine exams and cleanings, because you become overly anxious about your appointment, you can consider yourself an eligible candidate for sedation dentistry. Dental sedation helps you feel calm, relaxed, and at ease during dental procedures.

While you might find it challenging to determine whether you need sedation dentistry, your situation when visiting dentists makes it clear that you dislike dental visits because of the smells and sounds of the dental practice or might have traumatic earlier experiences with dentists making it necessary for you to receive sedation to induce a level of calmness in you for relaxation.

Dental sedation is unlike sleep dentistry, which makes you unconscious during dental appointments, especially if you undergo complex therapies like full mouth rehabilitation or surgical procedures. In contrast, sedation dentistry is merely an option to calm dental anxiety, sensitive gag reflex, special needs, and difficulty sitting still in the dentist’s chair. Therefore, you will never realize you need sedation dentistry unless you discuss your issue with sedation dentistry in East York, Toronto, ON, to determine whether you are suitable for this option.

In reality, dental sedation benefits all people, including children and dentists recommend this option for the conditions described earlier. Therefore you must visit the dental practice suggested for your dental issue and explain your fear of dentists to them without hesitation, requesting help to manage your anxiety and oral health.

Kinds of Sedation Provided by Dentists

The East York dental practice provides varying levels of dental sedation depending on your unique requirements. They will consider factors like your anxiety level, the length of your specific procedure, your health history and your preferences. Some kinds of dental sedation the practice offers include:

• Nitrous Oxide: nitrous oxide, alternatively called laughing gas, is an inhalable delivered through a nose mask, and the relaxing effects of the gas take effect within three to five minutes. The dentist controls the sedation to receive by adjusting dosages throughout your procedure. After completing your treatment, you receive pure oxygen, and the gas dissipates from your body quickly. As a result, you don’t need help driving back home or to work after your dental procedure.

• Oral Conscious Sedation: oral sedation requires you to have pills an hour before the procedure. The dentist prescribes tranquilizers, antidepressants, and muscle relaxants in pill or liquid form for children and suggests when you must have the medication before your appointment. Oral sedation makes you feel exhausted and sleepy. However, you can also communicate with your dentist, and if required, the dentist can awaken you with a nudge. However, oral sedation makes you incapacitated to operate vehicles or machinery, making it necessary to have a trusted family member with you when driving home after your appointment.

• IV Sedation: in dentistry settings, IV sedation is the deepest kind of conscious sedation you might receive. The dentist delivers the sedatives into your bloodstream using an IV line. They monitor your blood pressure, oxygen and heart rate during your treatment and can adjust the dosage and use reversal medications if required to wake you up quickly. IV sedation is excellent if you have severe dental anxiety and undergo lengthy dental procedures.

What Happens before Receiving Dental Sedation?

It helps if you discuss with your dentist or sedation options during your first consultation with them for any procedure. The dentist will examine your entire health history and request information about your medications or supplements. After gathering the essential information, the dentist makes sedation recommendations according to your unique needs.

Before your dental appointment, you must refrain from having food or drinks for six hours but can take your medications unless advised by the dentist not to do so. For example, if you take blood thinners, ensure that you provide the information to the dentist because they might suggest not taking the medications for at least 72 hours before your appointment.

As you arrive at the dental practice for your scheduled procedure, please do not assume you will not receive local anesthesia in the mouth to block pain impulses. Dental sedation is optimal for anxiety management; pain management needs local anesthesia to manage discomfort. The medications provided or prescribed by the dentist in East York relax your senses, making you oblivious to the dental practice or the procedure you need to undergo, making you think the dentist completed your treatment in minutes when you might have spent hours in the dentist’s chair.

You might never know if you need sedation dentistry near you unless you visit Danforth Village Dental Care, which provides dental sedation for most patients, including children, for relaxation and calmness. If you are scared of dentists and their practice, it helps if you schedule a consultation with this practice to determine whether dental sedation is a suitable option for your needs.