Most patients visiting the dentist for a routine cleaning or exam do not require any type of sedation. For some patients though, even these simple appointments can trigger some form of anxiety, sometimes to the point that they avoid going to the dentist at all. This can be detrimental to their oral health. In those cases, sedation dentistry can be helpful. It comes in several forms and in addition to putting nervous patients at ease, it can be used for certain dental procedures that are particularly invasive or for patients who have a strong gag reflex or low pain tolerance. Impression Dental Care offers this service to help appointments go as smoothly as possible for patients in Huntington Beach.
This is a conscious sedative, meaning that it will not put you to sleep, but it is effective at producing a calming effect. It is administered with a mixture of oxygen and is beneficial for anxious or phobic patients. You will still be able to communicate while under nitrous and at the end of the appointment, after the gas has been flushed out of your system, the effects will wear off almost immediately.
This form of sedation is administered in the form of a pill, the most common type of which is Halcion, which comes from the same family as Valium. Like nitrous, it does not put a patient to sleep, but merely dulls the senses. It usually has to be taken about an hour before the appointment.
This is a moderate type of sedation and causes some patients to feel as if they slept through their appointment. It is administered direct into the bloodstream via injection, producing immediate effects, and is usually used for shorter treatments. You may feel groggy or sleepy afterwards.
This is the heaviest form of sedation, putting you nearly or entirely to sleep. It is administered through medication and is used for longer or more invasive procedures rather than to help anxious patients.
If you feel that you can benefit from the use of sedation dentistry, be sure to talk to your dentist at Impression Dental Care about it during your next appointment in Huntington Beach.
