We’ll be the first to admit that spending an hour in the dentist’s chair isn’t nearly as enjoyable as passing the same time with friends, but these short visits do provide you with something to smile about.
If your fear or anxiety over visiting a dentist is causing you to avoid your dental care altogether, you run the risk of developing much larger problems that require more intervention — which is exactly what you’re trying to steer clear of in the first place. The good news is that we offer sedation dentistry, which allows us to keep your smile full of bright, healthy teeth, while making you feel comfortable at the same time.
At The Glen Dental in San Jose, California, Aman Bhullar, DMD, and his experienced team of dental professionals understand the effects that dental anxiety and fear can have on our patients, which is why we offer different levels of sedation. Our compassionate team makes every effort to remove the fear and anxiety from your dental care equation to ensure that you get the ongoing dental care you need to maintain great oral health.
If you’re letting your anxiety prevent you from taking care of your teeth, here’s how sedation dentistry can bridge the gap.
Behind dental anxiety
Between 9-15% of adults in the United States have some degree of dental anxiety, and we take no offense! The fact is that noisy instruments inside your head, as well as highly sensitive roots and tissues, are perfectly valid reasons for your anxiety.
The problem is that the anxiety and fear often become anticipatory, as if every visit to our chair will somehow lead to discomfort. This is perfectly natural, but largely unfounded. Modern dental techniques have come a long way, and most of our procedures are designed to help you avoid pain, not create it. For example, a root canal procedure is nothing compared to an infected tooth that goes untreated.
While we know you understand these consequences, this understanding certainly doesn’t help alleviate your anxiety, or downright fear, of getting dental work done. And that’s where sedation dentistry comes in.
Providing peace of mind and great care
Through sedation dentistry, we’re able to help you relax during your dental visit so that we can do what we do best — look after the health of your teeth and gums.
There are several different levels of sedation, and we can find one that works best to keep you comfortable. The options include:
- Oral anti-anxiety medications
- Nitrous oxide (laughing gas)
- IV sedation
If your anxiety is mild, we may simply take the edge off with an oral pill that you take before you come in.
If your anxiety is mid-grade, IV sedation or laughing gas depresses your consciousness to a point where you’re still able to communicate and follow verbal commands, but your mind is elsewhere.
In extreme cases, we can explore general anesthesia, which completely depresses your consciousness and requires a higher level of care on our part.
Ultimately, our goal is to make sure that you’re comfortable during each of your visits with us. By providing you with sedation dentistry options, your visits won’t be a source of anxiety, especially knowing that you’re preventing larger problems down the road through excellent preventive care.
To learn more about our sedation options, and all or your dental care needs, call our office a call at (669) 205-1303 to schedule a consultation. You can also send us a message online.