Sedation dentistry can allow you to get through more complex oral procedures without feeling anything. This type of dentistry uses medication to help you relax during your dental procedure. Dental anxiety is a real thing, and it keeps many people from getting the dental care they need. If you have dental anxiety, sedation dentistry may be a good option.
It’s not uncommon for people to have anxiety when lying on an operating table, even if it’s a simple procedure like extracting a tooth. Sedation can either calm your nerves, lessen the pain you feel, or put you to sleep so that the operation doesn’t negatively affect you.
Here at Marquette Dentistry, we use sedation dentistry during some of our cosmetic dentistry procedures and our dental implants. Some of these procedures require heavy work in your teeth to reform them into a beautiful smile. This may make some patients nervous or cause them more pain than they want to endure.
No method is one-size-fits-all. Some processes may work for one patient but not for another. Some may be too strong for one patient, or another may be allergic to the anesthesia. Before we put you under, please remember to tell us if you know you’re allergic or resistant to certain kinds of medication.
Contact us today to learn more about our sedation methods. We’ll be more than happy to discuss the procedures that we offer sedation for and how they can benefit you overall.
The Art of Sedation Dentistry
Are you excited or a little scared when you go to the dentist? The truth is that some people get anxious when visiting the dentist. We’re not talking about children either.
More and more adults are getting dental anxiety. The thought of someone sticking their fingers and tools in your mouth doesn’t bring happy ideas of unicorns and butterflies. On the contrary, you feel like you want to pass out. This is where we can use sedation methods to save your day.
Over 30% of today’s patients have anxiety that comes as an unneeded addition to their dental visits. Your dental visit shouldn’t be a scary experience. With sedation, you can get through your dental procedures with fewer worries. With sedation, you can get through your dental procedures with fewer worries.
What is Sedation Dentistry?
By definition, sedation is a method we use to calm and relax a patient through sedatives. Sometimes, this may mean putting the patient to sleep. We can administer sedatives through pills, IVs, or through the use of nitrous oxide (aka, the almighty laughing gas). The one point you have to remember is that sedation is a safe and effective method of relieving or reducing dental anxiety.
Sedation is one of the widely used techniques in dental offices today. Whether the method is by pill, gas, or some other form, the result is the same – a relaxed visit to our dental office. In some cases, patients may feel that they fall into a “twilight phase” where they’re in a conscious daze. Some may feel like they slept through the visit, but they haven’t.
Oral sedation shouldn’t be confused with general anesthesia. In some cases, the dentist will apply a local anesthetic to reduce the pain you may feel during the following procedure. A local anesthetic temporarily blocks the impulses of pain that can often radiate from your teeth and gums. The dentist will sedate you most of the time before applying the anesthesia.
Procedures You Can Expect Sedation Dentistry For
Unless you have severe dental anxiety, we don’t often suggest the continuous use of sedation dentistry. Like any medication, eventually, you’ll build a resistance if you take it too often. Usually, we only use it for major procedures where the pain may be too much for the patient to handle. Or if we notice that your dental anxiety prevents you and us from continuing with the appointment or procedure.
Some of the procedures that we will sedate patients are more complex, such as most cosmetic dentistry procedures. We will also sedate patients undergoing a dental implant procedure or tooth extraction.
Cosmetic dentistry focuses on enhancing or improving your smile. Our cosmetic procedures include teeth whitening, veneers, crowns, and bridges. Our cosmetic services also include tooth restoration and rehabilitative treatment to restore any damaged teeth.
Dental implants can fall under cosmetic dentistry. These implants serve as replacement teeth for those who lost teeth from unnatural causes. For example, a dental implant can restore your beautiful smile if you knock out a tooth during some rough-housing. These implants are prosthetic teeth that serve the same purpose and function as your natural teeth.
Lastly, we also use sedation dentistry for procedures like a wisdom tooth removal or general tooth extractions. As you would expect, removing teeth from your mouth may be too excruciating to endure without some help. That’s why we often use laughing gas to help numb the pain in our patients.
Cosmetic Dentistry
You deserve a beautiful smile. Marquette Dentistry is here to help you achieve your perfect smile. We have several cosmetic procedures that can bring you closer to your ideal smile. Whether you need a linear array of teeth, whiter teeth, or repairs on damaged teeth, our dentists can handle it.
This field of dentistry focuses on improving the appearance of teeth. Cosmetic dentistry can treat a wide variety of dental problems, including stained or discolored teeth, chipped or cracked teeth, misaligned teeth, and gaps between teeth. We offer several types of teeth whitening, so you can decide how many shades your teeth will lighten.
Although most of these procedures don’t necessarily need sedation, we have several types of sedation if you need it. If you want to improve the look of your teeth, contact us to set up a consultation today.
Dental Implants
Losing a tooth isn’t uncommon. There’s no need to panic when you lose one of your adult teeth. With today’s advances in medical science, we have the solution for you. Dental implants are a reliable and proven method to restore your smile, closing the gap between your teeth.
Dental implants are a popular and effective way to replace missing teeth. They are designed to provide a solid and stable foundation for artificial teeth. The implant is placed in the jawbone and allowed to fuse with the bone for several months.
Once the implant is fused with the bone, a small connector, called an abutment, is placed on the implant. The abutment is used to support the artificial tooth, called a crown. Once everything heals, you can treat the new implant like the rest of your natural teeth.
Tooth Extractions
Everyone has at least two sets of teeth: your baby teeth and your adult set. Some even have a third set: your wisdom teeth.
For some, their wisdom teeth will cooperate and grow in without causing too many issues. However, some patients don’t have that luxury. Their impacted wisdom teeth may cause pain or cause other molars in their mouth to shift out of place. In those cases, your wisdom teeth have to go.
The removal of wisdom teeth is a standard procedure performed by oral surgeons. The wisdom teeth are the third molars in the back of the mouth, and they are the last teeth to erupt. Wisdom teeth often become impacted, which means they cannot fully erupt through the gum tissue. Impacted wisdom teeth can cause pain, infection, and damage to the adjacent teeth.
Wisdom teeth extractions are typically performed under local anesthesia, but sedation may be used for patients who experience anxiety. We’ll use a moderate to deep sedation, depending on how long we think the procedure will take.
Calm Down & Relax While at the Dentist
Visiting the dentist makes many children and adults wary. However, we have methods to help you relax and make it through the dental procedures you need. Contact us to learn more about sedation today.
Call us today to schedule an appointment. Or visit us to learn more about how sedation dentistry can help you during your next dental visit. At Marquette Dentistry, we want to ensure that you get the dental procedures you need to smile with confidence. That’s why we offer sedation dentistry for those who have dental anxiety.
Fun Facts About the United States of America:
- The Gateway Archway in St. Louis, MO is the tallest monument in the U.S.
- In some states, there are more cows than there are people.
- The Statue of Liberty is not technically within NYC. It’s technically within Jersey City’s waters.
- For more fun facts, visit the country’s official page.