The thought of visiting a dentist for treatment and procedures can be pretty daunting to many people both children and adults alike. Here at Sunny Isles Dental, we use sedation dentistry so that our patients will not have to worry about pain and that we can give them a relaxed, anxiety-free and painless dental experience.
Our sedation dentistry near me in Sunny Isles Beach, FL makes it possible for you to experience a completely soothing dental visit, even if you need extensive dental work completed, in just a few visits.
Sedation Dentistry refers to the use of a class of drugs called Sedatives to calm a patient or put him/her to a relaxed state, almost like sleep, before and during a dental appointment. It enables the individuals who are afraid to go to the dentist to get the treatment they need while avoiding dental phobia. Sedatives focus on depressing the central nervous system to allow patients to feel relaxed, and have a safe and comfortable dental experience. For many patients, dental sedation’s effects last around two to four hours.
LEVELS OF SEDATION DENTISTRY
LIGHT SEDATION (ANXIOLYSIS) – this is recommended for patients with mild or low levels of anxiety problems. It is ideal for providing relaxation for simple procedures or dental visits. This is administered by having the patient inhale a sedative agent (nitrous oxide) through a mask or by taking an oral sedative in a form of a pill some time prior to the procedure. The patient is relaxed but is still fully conscious and awake, and keeps the ability to respond to physical stimulation. Body reflexes are not affected and the patient can independently maintain and continue breathing.
MODERATE OR CONSCIOUS SEDATION – this is recommended for patients with dental anxiety or phobia or those that find undergoing dental care difficult. This sedation makes the patient feel sleepy and if he or she falls asleep, the patient can be waken up easily. It only depresses the patient’s consciousness but still allow them to respond to verbal commands. This is administered by letting the patient inhale nitrous oxide, it can also be done orally or intravenous sedation. Regardless of the method, it ensures ease of use, comfortability and safety to patients.
DEEP SEDATION – is a less used sedation as this is only used for patients with increased fear of the dentists and higher anxiety levels. This is best for major and intense oral surgeries such as wisdom tooth extraction. In this type of sedation, the patient is put to unconsciousness by inducing drug to depress consciousness and reduce or entirely interrupt patient’s ability to purposely respond to physical stimulation and verbal commands. This is commonly administered through IV sedation (intravenous sedation) by inserting a needle into a vein in the hand. It takes a couple of hours for the medicine to completely wear off. Only a licensed oral surgeon or properly trained dental anesthesiologist is allowed to administer deep sedation.
GENERAL ANESTHESIA – this is the deepest level of sedation dentistry that puts the patient to complete unconsciousness. This is only recommended for patients with extreme fear of dental procedures and extreme dental phobia. Patients who have mental or physical disability are also the ones who are recommended to have this type of sedation. Patients who get general anesthesia are not able to respond even to painful stimulations. And this can be administered by an anesthesiologist, dental anesthesiologist or oral and maxillofacial surgeon usually in a hospital environment because of the higher risks involved.
The following are some of the important benefits that sedation dentistry provides:
- Overcome fear and anxiety – patients who have phobia of going to the dentist normally delays their appointments thus delaying the treatment that their teeth needs. With dental sedation, the patient feels more relaxed and stress free during the procedure.
- Absence of pain – with dental sedation, even patients who have low tolerance for pain will not be feeling any pain at all; they may even have little memory of the treatment that took place. If the patient is sedated, he/she may no longer need anesthesia which will result to lesser fees.
- Longer procedure, lesser appointments – Undergoing sedation allows you to endure longer dental procedures without pain and discomfort. As a result, your dentist will be able to finish the necessary treatments and will not require you to keep on going back thus decreasing the number of visits required.
- Save money – Dental sedation may actually require you to spend more on top of your dental treatment fees. However, dental sedation will allow you to get your treatments done with fewer visits and consequently result to less treatment expenses.
Contact Sunny Isles Dental for sedation dentistry near me in Sunny Isles Beach, FL. Conveniently located Off Collins Avenue,17100 Collins Ave, Ste. 213 Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160
