The Science Of Sedation Dentistry

By Author: Vikram Kumar
Total Articles: 9503
Comment this article

A large number of people dread a visit to the dentist and hardly anyone ever looks forward to dental appointments. It’s not really a pleasant feeling to have someone poking into your teeth and gums with metal instruments and drills. Many people just about manage to make that twice a year mandatory visit to the doctor and also endure the little pain that is associated with some dental procedures. However, some people cannot really stand the thought of getting any sort of dental treatment unless they are in dire need of it.

This can be a very problematic situation as it also means that some dental afflictions like cavities and gum disease can go undetected. These people end up going to a dentist only when the pain becomes unbearable or the issue becomes very evident. What this means is that in some cases the dental problem can spiral out of control and tooth extraction may be necessitated. It is at times such as these that sedation dentistry comes into the picture. Sedation dentistry in Austin can help these people get the dental care they need, when they need to.

Sedation dentistry makes the use of sedatives to ...
... get a patient to relax before the dentist works on their teeth. Most dentists anesthetize the affected area locally before working on it. Dental sedation is different in that a general anesthetic is used before the patient is treated. Some people have a mortal fear of any kind of dental treatment and local anesthesia is of no use. Some others suffer from gag reflexes, thus avoid having their teeth issues attended to. This leads to neglect and deterioration in teeth conditions. Sedation dentistry in Austin helps patients such as these relax when the procedure is underway and also clouds their memory post the treatment.

This is effective in that the fear factor is taken care of and the treatment can be carried out in an unhindered manner. This kind of sedation is not considered to be a necessity by insurance companies and is not covered under insurance. Patients who wish to avail of dental sedation have to pay for it from their own pocket. It is important to check on the cost before you start with your treatment. These sedatives could be administered intravenously or via an inhalant named nitrous oxide. Nowadays, some dentists also make use of an oral sedation in the form of benzodiazepine pills. These have to be taken prior to the dental appointment.

These do not sedate the patient but relaxes him/her and there will generally be little or no memory about the actual procedure. The patient will have to be accompanied by someone to the clinic and will have to be driven home. Dentists will not carry out this procedure if the patient is unaccompanied. It takes upto four hours for the medication to wear off and the person should not be left unsupervised. Dental sedation is used in cases where patients have refrained getting dental procedures done due to their fear of pain. They may have developed dental complications and the sedation helps the dentist in completing several procedures in one sitting.

Resource box:

Austin Laser Dentist conducts sedation dentistry in Austin . sedation dentistry is useful for patients who are fearful of visiting a dentist.