A visit to a dentist’s chair should be comfortable. However, there are often complications that involve treatments and surgeries that are a little more than routine. Sedation dentistry in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, is designed to alleviate stress and make you feel at ease, regardless of your oral hygiene circumstances. Is sedation dentistry right for you? Continue reading to find out more about the process and what it involves.
What Is Sedation Dentistry?
Quite simply, sedation dentistry is when a dentist uses a sedative to numb your mouth. They do this so that they can perform necessary procedures without causing pain or discomfort. For example, you might be given nitrous oxide or a numbing agent before receiving a filling. This is because the treatment requires the decay to be removed, and scraping the nerve can result in a sharp, shooting sensation.
Most dentistry techniques don’t implement sedatives as everyone reacts to them differently. However, sedation dentistry in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, is imperative if oral hygiene issues escalate and you require expert medical help to fix the problem.
How Does It Work?
It depends on the type of sedation. There are three main kinds that include:
- Nitrous oxide: This is a gas that relaxes you during the procedure. It wears off quickly, which is why it is a firm favorite of dentists as there are fewer side-effects.
- Oral sedatives: Oral sedatives, such as diazepam, help patients to relax during dental procedures as they are taken an hour before an appointment and reduce anxiety. Although oral sedatives make you feel sleepy, you are awake during the treatment.
- Intravenous sedatives: Intravenous sedatives, or IVs, put you into a deep sleep until it wears off. While other IV drugs can put you into a state of semi-consciousness, a general anesthetic is the only one of the three sedatives that fully put you to sleep.
An IV comes with more complications, such as an allergic reaction, so it’s always vital to inform your dentist of any allergies.
A general anesthetic and nitrous oxide are both delivered by a dentist as they are needed before, during, and after the treatment. However, an oral sedative might be prescribed to you for pain relief or stress after an appointment. In this case, all you need to do is follow the instructions given to you by your dentist when you get home.
You don’t have to prepare for a dose of NO2, but you might have to avoid eating or drinking if you are to be given general anesthetic as it helps to improve the effectiveness of the drug. Also, you could have to stop taking certain medications to reduce side-effects.
What Are The Benefits?
The main benefit is that sedation dentistry eases the pain that occurs with certain treatments. Also, a sedative can make you feel less tense if you have a phobia of sitting in a dentist’s chair. Plus, because the sedation types are varied, there is typically a sedative for everyone. For example, people who don’t like needles can use the oral version.
Get in touch with us now to find out how sedation dentistry in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, can revolutionize your oral health!