Do you feel uneasy about going to the dentist? If your answer is yes, you are not alone. In fact, millions of Americans feel so nervous at the dentist they avoid going altogether. Fortunately, ways to calm those nerves to get you through your dental appointment are now widely available. One option is sleep dentistry, also known as conscious sedation.

Sleep Easy

Sleep dentistry is now popularly used to help address dental anxiety. But contrary to its name, sleep dentistry won’t actually put patients to sleep. It makes use of sedatives and pain relievers that will put them into a relaxed or sleep-like state. It is often used as an anti-anxiety agent to help keep them calm during dental visits, and is frequently used along with local anesthetics.

The goal of sedation is to minimize pain and discomfort during treatment. But unlike deep sedation, where dentists use general anesthesia, conscious sedation enables you to respond to speech or touch, so you can communicate any discomfort to your dentist.

Relaxation Options

Aside from conscious sedation and general anesthesia, there are other types of sedation many dentists use:

- Inhalation Sedation -- Also known as nitrous oxide or laughing gas

- Oral Sedation -- These drugs are usually taken either the night before the treatment or immediately before the dental appointment .

- Intravenous (IV) Sedation -- Administered through the veins to get the sedative directly to your blood stream

How It Helps

Sleep dentistry can help you:

- Relax and calm your nerves

- Feel a little more comfortable with the procedure you will have

- Avoid restlessness as you go through a long procedure

- Control a bad gag reflex

Sleep dentistry may just be the best thing that can ever happen to your teeth. With this type of sedation helping you overcome your fear of the dentist, you can finally give your teeth the care and attention they need and deserve. Be sure to ask your dentist about all your sedation options to help calm those dental-visit nerves.

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