What Are the Benefits of Sedation Dentistry?
Dental exams and other types of dental care are essential for your health. However, sometimes dental anxiety or a sensitive gag reflex can keep us from receiving the dental care we need. That’s where sedation dentistry comes to the rescue.
Sedation dentistry is the use of medication to help patients relax during their dental procedures. While some patients may go under general anesthesia, many patients are typically awake but relaxed during their fillings, cleanings, and other procedures. If you experience stress during your dental appointments, dental sedation may be right for you.
Here are some of the key ways sedation dentistry can help you.
Anxiety Relief
Visiting the dentist can produce a great deal of anxiety for many people. If you’re a person who has severe anxiety related to dental procedures, sedation dentistry may help limit your symptoms. Sedation dentistry allows you to fully relax throughout the appointment so that you can have the necessary procedures without experiencing any anxiety. This type of dentistry is an excellent option for individuals who experience severe anxiety during dental appointments and helps ensure that they can receive necessary care from their dentists.
Reduction of Gag Reflex
Some individuals experience a dramatic gag reflex during trips to the dentist. If you have this issue, it can make it difficult for a dentist to treat you. Sedation dentistry helps you relax, eliminating the gag reflex and ensuring that the dentist can evaluate you and provide the necessary treatment. X-rays, cleanings, and fillings can all be difficult for an individual with a delicate gag reflex, and sedation dentistry can help solve this problem. When a patient is sedated, it’s easier for the dentist to accomplish the dental work quickly and effectively, without triggering their gag reflex and making them uncomfortable.
Pain Relief
Depending on the types of sedation dentistry the dentist offers, patients may also experience pain relief during procedures as well. Anesthesia eliminates pain during dental procedures, ensuring that the patient is comfortable and relaxed throughout the dental work. This can be a great option for more intensive dental work, longer procedures, and patients with severe anxiety who are unable to sit in the chair for long periods of time. While you may still need over-the-counter pain medication after your appointment, sedation dentistry allows you to be far more comfortable during dental work.
Faster Dental Work
When patients are anxious about having dental work done, their anxiety can extend the length of the treatment. The dentist has to work more slowly, explain each step, and reassure the patient about the procedure. Sedation dentistry relaxes the patient, often to the point of sleep, and allows the dentist to work more quickly. This means that the dental work can be completed faster, more effectively, and without as many stops to calm the patient and explain the procedures.
Fewer Appointments Necessary
Sedation dentistry often means that you can complete your dental work with fewer total appointments. Instead of needing to return time after time, working through your anxiety for each appointment, you can have the dental work accomplished with fewer appointments and completed more quickly. The sedation allows the appointments to last for longer periods of time, so the dentist can accomplish more work in each session and schedule fewer appointments overall.
If you struggle with going to the dentist, but understand that it’s important to schedule the care that you need, sedation dentistry may be a good fit for you. Contact the local dentists at Railroad Dental Associates today to schedule an appointment with us.