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Understanding the Importance of Sedation in Dentistry

Universal Dental
Welcome to Universal Dental, where we serve our patients in Universal City and our neighbors in Live Oak, Converse, Schertz, Selma, Bracken, Cibolo, and Garden Ridge. We are a modern dental clinic dedicated to providing you with the best dental experience possible. With our state-of-the-art technology, experienced team, and comfortable atmosphere, we will help you achieve the smile of your dreams. No matter what brings you to our office, you can enjoy the quality, affordable, and fully personalized care that you deserve.
BY Universal Dental

Not only children, even adults, shy from visiting the dentist regardless of gender or ethnicity. Some might be indifferent to the experience; others might enjoy the experience of visiting the dentist. With sedation dentistry, you can relax during the dental procedure. Sedation dentistry involves different methods to reduce paranoia and anxiety and is suitable for simple and complex dental procedures such as tooth extraction or root canal treatment.

What Is Sedation Dentistry?

Sedation dentistry refers to the pharmacological agents used to calm the patient and reduce their anxiety during dental treatment. The thought of visiting a dentist’s office near you might make your entire body tense with fear. Although some patients might enjoy the feeling of dental procedures, most others are unwilling to endure the pain and agony of dental procedures. Some are so phobic that they prefer not to undergo dental treatment rather than endure the pain.

Often referred to as sleep dentistry, sedation dentistry involves using medicines to help patients relax during dental procedures. Apart from general anesthesia, the patients are usually awake during the treatment. The different types of sedation dentistry include:

Inhaled Minimal Sedation

After the incorporation of minimal sedation, the patient is awake but relaxed. A mask containing laughing gas or a combination of nitrous oxide with oxygen is placed over the nose, and the patient is asked to inhale. The dentist can control the level of sedation, and the effect of this sedation tends to wear off quickly. Inhaled sedation is apt for you if you plan to drive home after the dental treatment. Inhaled minimal sedation makes you relaxed during the procedure.

Oral Sedation

Oral sedation can vary from minimal to moderate, depending on the dose given. Typically, a pill of Halcion, which is a member of the drug family Valium, is administered an hour before the dental procedure. Although you would be awake, the pill would make you feel drowsy. A larger dose is used for moderate sedation. Some might fall asleep during the treatment but can be awakened with a gentle shake.

IV Sedation

A sedative drug is injected through an intravenous channel that works quickly. The sedative received through the veins mix quickly with the blood, and the effects are fast. The IV sedation method allows the dentist to continually adjust the sedation level. The patient incorporated with IV sedation would be on the edge of consciousness and can be awakened.

General Anesthesia

Even a dentist near you can induce general anesthesia that would make you almost or totally unconscious. This induced deep sleep would ensure that you do not feel or remember the procedure undertaken. Once you are incorporated with general anesthesia, you cannot be awakened until the effects of anesthesia wear off.

Apart from these forms of sedation dentistry, the local anesthesia of numbing the site of pain also exists to relieve the pain during the discomfort.

Who Can Have Sedation at the Dentists?

Sedation is most apt for those who have the natural fear of visiting the dentist. Sedation dentistry may also be appropriate for those who:

  • have a low pain threshold
  • can’t sit still in the dentist’s chair
  • suffer from tooth sensitivity
  • have a bad gag reflex
  • need a large amount of dental work completed, which is painful as root canal treatment.

Importance of Sedation Dentistry

The advantages and importance of sedation dentistry are:

No More Pain

With sedation dentistry, you can experience pain-free dental procedures. After being sedated, the brain does not register any stimuli to pain. Gone are the days when you had missed appointments to the dentist due to the fear of pain and agony

Controls Anxiety

With sedation dentistry, you can stop fear from disrupting your dental treatment. Sedation helps you to control the fear and paranoia and gives you ample chance to get anxiety-free dental treatment.

Lesser Visits to the Dentist

Universal Dental is one of the best clinics providing sedation dentistry in Universal City, TX. We offer a $49 special offer for every new patient with a free dental examination. Apart from sedation, we also provide dental implants. With sedation dentistry, the dentists can provide better dental treatment with lesser disruptions. Even complex dental procedures can be completed in a single visit to the dentist.

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