Important Tips About Sedation Dentistry

Although this holiday season is a time for joy, a visit to your dentist office to treat an oral accident or injury may bring added stress or anxiety to your life. This is known as dental anxiety and is quite common in many individuals. If you suffer from dental anxiety, it is important to follow effective treatments to help calm your mind and ease any fears you may have. If you are afraid of any pain you may feel, sedation dentistry treatments exist in many forms to help calm and relax patients. Listed below are a few common varieties:

– Inhaled Minimal Sedation – A mild form of sedation, as patients who have undergone inhaled sedation via laughing gas, which is a combination of oxygen and nitrous oxide, will be much calmer and more relaxed.

– Oral Sedation – Oral sedation is a sedative that is given via a pill to greatly affect an individual’s level of consciousness. Typically, oral sedation must be given at least 1 hour before any procedures can be done to allow the sedative to take hold.

– Intravenous Moderate Sedation – Intravenous sedation is an instantaneous sedative that is given through a vein and designed to allow oral health care procedures to be immediately given.

– Deep Sedation – Deep sedation is designed to take an individual to the edge of consciousness but allows them to be awaked easily if necessary.

– General Anesthesia – General anesthesia requires the use of heavy anesthesia to ensure the patient will fall asleep and not wake up until the sedative has completely worn off.

For additional assistance with sedation dentistry, Dr. Timothy Erdle and our team at Institute of Dental Implants and Periodontics are here to enhance your smile. If you would like to set up an appointment to come see us at our office in Gurnee, Illinois, please call us at 847-662-3414 to speak with a member of our team.