How Does Oral Sedation Help in Dentistry?
Dental visits are becoming more comfortable with several medications now available to create a relaxed atmosphere. Some medications used can control the pain, some help you to relax and others put you into a deep sleep-like state during the dental procedure.
You can discuss several factors with your dentist before deciding which medications may be used during your treatment. The procedure you are undergoing, your overall health history, anxiety levels and history of any allergies will be considered when determining the approach that is best for your particular case.
Children May Also Be Suggested Oral Sedation
Dentists are regularly recommending the children be administered anesthesia or sedation to help them to relax for safely completing certain dental procedures. Here again, you must discuss with your dentist the type of anesthesia that will be administered to the child to be sure about the procedure.
Oral sedation dentistry may be administered in the form of local anesthesia to prevent pain in a specific area of the mouth by blocking the nerves that usually transmit the pain by numbing the tissues of the mouth. A topical anesthetic will be applied to numb the area before injecting a local anesthetic. Painful mouth sores can also be soothed with topical anesthesia. Procedures like filling cavities, preparing the teeth for crowns or treating periodontal disease will require oral sedation in the injectable form.
A pain reliever may also be suggested after undergoing the treatment and depending on the procedure. These medications can be divided into two groups such as nonnarcotic or narcotic variety. The nonnarcotic variety is the most commonly used medication for relief from toothache and pain following dental treatment. Narcotic analgesics like opioids work to act on the receptors in the brain to control the pain.
Different Types of Sedation May Be Used by the Dentist for Every Procedure
Oral sedatives may be suggested by the dentist for certain dental procedures. They can be administered before or during the dental procedure. The sedation may involve gases like nitrous oxide or pills and medications that may be injected. Complex treatments like wisdom teeth extraction will need deeper sedation and in such cases, wisdom teeth sedation which may involve medication to relieve both anxiety and pain will be administered.
In some cases, patients that are extremely anxious and unable to sit still in the dentists’ chair may be suggested general anesthesia which will be administered by a general anesthesia dentist. The anesthesia will cause a temporary loss of consciousness and will require the patient to wait at the dentist’s office until he or she has recovered fully.
Dentists are treating millions of patients safely every year by managing their pain and anxiety. The American Dental Association encourages patients to actively participate in any oral procedure they are slated to undergo with their dentist. Patients are recommended to understand the risks and benefits that are involved in a dental procedure to make sure they along with their dentists can make the right decisions about the treatment best suited for them. When you work together with your dentist both of you can choose the appropriate steps to make your visit safe and comfortable and to help you to keep a healthy smile with some assistance coming from sedation dentistry.
Sedation dentistry in any form has made it possible for dentists to remove the fear of dental procedures from the minds of people. It is this fear that prevents most people from visiting the dental office even for routine cleanings and checkups. While sedation dentistry is not required during an oral examination it will become a necessity if the patient needs fillings or is extremely anxious even about teeth cleaning.
The type of anesthesia administered is generally local where the area around the tooth being treated is initially numbed by a topical anesthetic before being injected by the injectable anesthetic. The patient does not feel any pain during the procedure and will be comfortably relaxed feeling just some pressure of the treatment. Oral sedation has made it easier for dentists to perform even the supposedly painful procedures like a root canal under local anesthesia making it a benefit both for patients as well as dentists.
If you have been recommended anesthesia for a dental procedure you are supposed to undergo you can confidently accept the recommendation made by the dentist because you’re unlikely to feel any pain during the procedure because of sedation dentistry.