For both children and adults, visiting a dentist may sound terrifying, discouraging them from going for routine checkups and cleaning. There is no shame in fearing needles or being anxious after dental treatments, but avoiding these treatments can be detrimental to your oral health. The Smile by Design Dental Group offers Irvine sedation dentistry to ensure you are comfortable and have a pleasant experience during dental procedures.
What is sedation dentistry?
Sedation dentistry involves several techniques that keep you relaxed, at ease, and calm during dental procedures. The Smile by Design Dental Group team utilizes sedation dentistry to ensure you are comfortable and stress-free, giving you a pleasant experience. You can talk to your doctor about sedation dentistry if you have:
- Special needs including behavioral, physical, or cognitive
- Extreme anxiety when in a dental chair
- Low pain tolerance
- Feelings of claustrophobia during dental procedures
- Extreme teeth sensitivity
Although dentists focus on giving you your best smile and treating uncomfortable dental diseases, they also value your comfort. Your provider may recommend sedation dentistry for routine checkups and cleaning. Do not shy away from talking to your doctor about sedation techniques if you have low pain tolerance.
What types of sedation can you benefit from?
The type of sedation you get depends on your unique needs. Before your dental procedure, your doctor may conduct a comprehensive physical examination, ask about your allergies and review your health history before identifying the appropriate sedative. If you are on any medications, your provider may recommend skipping them for a few days before your procedure to prevent complications. Your health information is crucial in avoiding violent reactions to specific sedative techniques. The Smile by Design dental specialists offer several sedation techniques, including nitrous oxide, intravenous (IV) sedation, and oral conscious sedation.
What should you expect during and after sedation dentistry?
On the day of your treatment, you may need to inform a family member or friend to pick you up after treatment. Before your treatment, the team may offer sedative medications and a local anesthetic to numb your gums and teeth. They administer the local anesthetic after you are comfortable and relaxed from the sedatives. After treatment, it would be best to go straight home and take adequate rest until the effects of the sedative medicine wear off.
What are the side effects associated with sedation dentistry?
The Smile by Design Dental Group specialists is cautious about the types of sedation they administer. They may monitor you for a few hours to ensure that you are in good condition before discharging you.
Sedation dentistry has a few short-term risks, including headaches, dry mouth, lingering drowsiness, nausea and vomiting, and bruising from the IV. It may be challenging to predict your reaction to oral sedatives, but most people rarely have allergic reactions. The specialists may administer medications to counteract these complications if these reactions occur.
Sedation dentistry is also safe and effective for kids, but you may be skeptical about your child receiving unfamiliar medications as a parent. Children experience minimal side effects from sedation dentistry, including snoring, irritability, mild fever, and nausea. These side effects resolve after resting.
Call the Smile by Design Dental Group office or schedule an appointment online for more information about sedation dentistry.
