Sedation in dentistry refers to the dentist’s administration of pharmacological agents to patients experiencing fear, anxiety or phobia to the sights and sounds associated with dental care procedures so that they will achieve a calm and relaxed state of mind during treatment. About 30% of the population in the country refrains from getting routine dental care due to dental fears, thus affecting the oral health care of these patients. A lot of these patients have not paid dentists in their area for decades.
Before you consider an option for sedation dentistry, here are some facts you must know:
1. Not all patients can enjoy the benefits of sedation dentistry.
Just because you are somewhat frightened with seeing the tools and equipment used in a particular dental procedure does not automatically mean that you qualify for the administration of sedatives during treatment in order to get the procedure done. Sedation dentistry is applicable to people with serious levels of dental fear. It is also not too ideal for treatments that last for less than an hour. Although all of us still possess a level of fear upon the thought of going to the dentist, majority of us are emotionally stable enough to tolerate the pain associated with any dental procedure for as long as we are fully aware that it is for our own general good. However, in the case of patients with extreme fears and anxieties towards undergoing dental procedures, they needed to be sedated just to get the procedure done. Depending on the treatment required, the sedatives can last from minutes to hours. The dentist will evaluate the medical history of every patient before he can decide whether or not a patient is a candidate for any form of sedation.
2. There are three basic options in sedation dentistry.
The most common option in sedation dentistry is oral conscious sedation. It involves the administration of one or more pills that can be taken at home hours before an appointment and another pill at the clinic prior to the procedure. This form of technique performed in US and Canada does not really bring the patient to sleep. Rather, it brings the patients to a level of comfort while conscious where they will hardly notice or care the processes done on is mouth during a procedure. This is best for patients who fear the needles in IV sedation.
IV sedation used to be the most common practice in providing patients a less painful experience in the dental clinic. However as dentistry evolved so did the options for patients in administering dental sedatives. This technique is both safe and effective when done by a trained professional, and so dentists who prefer the IV route usually have an anesthetist and nurse in his staff to administer the injection and monitor the vital signs of the patient.
Nitrous oxide or “laughing gas” is directed to a patient’s nose via a mask for inhalation until the patient achieves an increased pain threshold. The great thing about this method is that you will still be able to drive after getting a treatment from the clinic to your house or office without the drowsy feeling.
3. Always look for an experienced sedation dentist.
Not all dentists can perform sedation dentistry. They are all required by local and state boards to complete a specific number of hours which involve an intensive classroom training of methods, tools and equipment used in this branch of dentistry. Also, they must be able to have clinical patient cases by a specific number and have obtained a permit before they can ever be legally and professionally qualified to provide sedation dentistry methods in their areas.
Dr. Shamblott is a St. Louis Park dentist providing Minneapolis sedation dentistry to patients throughout the Twin Cities metro area.