subject: Sleep Through Your Next Dental Appointment [print this page] On average 20% of patients avoid the dentist due to dental phobia. Avoiding
the dentist can lead to a host of problems including gum disease.
To help individuals that suffer from dental phobia, several dentists offer IV sedation dentistry more commonly known as "sleep dentistry." *Sedation dentistry* is when a patient receives sedation medication or treatment before a dental care treatment
One bay area cosmetic dentist explains, "We have found that taking the focus away from the treatment itself is very beneficial to reducing fear and anxiety. We first let the patient know that they are in control of the procedure, and that they can stop and rest whenever they need
to.
Many sedation dentists offer overhead TV, iPod music, and/ or DVD movies
that people can watch with headphones on. This does two things. One, it
helps reduce the sound of dentistry, and two; it diverts attention away to a
more pleasant focus. In addition, dental chairs are often equipped with back
massagers, to stimulate senses away from the dentistry.
For patients who need something more, Nitrous Oxide gas, commonly known as
laughing gas, helps patients relax while having dental treatment. It is
comparable to having a couple of glasses of good wine, and lessens anxiety.
The patient can control the effect by requesting more or less gas. The
effect is totally reversible within 10 minutes of administration, and the
patient can drive themselves back home. Further steps for anxiety control would include oral medications such as Valium.
For some extreme cases, IV sedation is offered for complete
sedation, enabling the patient to completely forget the procedure.
