As you may have read in our previous article, Keep Calm & Get Educated, dental fear is real. You have no reason to be embarrassed or feel any deficiency. The only shame is not getting educated, discovering your options and taking care of your dental health. If you need a few more reasons to take care of your teeth and possibly a giggle check out this Toothbrush Confidential post.
Armed and ready to find the perfect dentist for your condition, you the Wellness Warrior only needs to know your options when it comes to sedation dentistry.
Conscious Sedation. This one is the most popular. Usually it’s one pill prior to or at the beginning of your appointment then you drift into a joyful state. The patient can communicate and is expected to as the dentist monitors the patients condition. Most patients say it feels like they had the most refreshing nap, without any knowledge of the experience at all. There are little to no side effects, although the patient must have a friend or family member pick them up and drive them home for safety reasons.
IV Sedation. As the title suggests instead of a pill the patient is hooked up to an IV and usually experiences a ‘falling asleep’ and a ‘waking up’. Although technically the patient does not go completely under they will not remember the experience and will wake feeling woozy and will most likely need to sleep it off.
So you’ve claimed your dental fear. You know you are not alone. You know it’s completely reasonable for an adult to experience dental anxiety. You have the tools to choose a dental team who are trained to support your quest for dental health. Why not take the final steps and make an appointment?
Not certain you feel quite comfortable enough yet to make an appointment. We’d love to know how this post affected you and your experience of dental fear, please share your thoughts in the comments below.
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