Posts Tagged ‘dentists that use anti anxiety medications on patients’


  

Sedation Dentistry: Providing Solutions for Anxious Patients

Friday, December 18th, 2009

Getting anxious during a dental visit may seem silly to some. But there are people whose anxiety levels increase tremendously at the thought of dental appointments, let alone an upcoming dental procedure. A traumatic dental experience in the past or a low tolerance for pain could have caused such reactions. In addition, children, especially those who are hard to restrain bring a great deal of anxiety to the clinic, both to themselves – as small children are not exactly fond of staying put for a long period – and to the treating dentist. There is a solution to reduce the anxiety and calm the patient during dental visits and treatments: sedation and sleep dentistry.

Administering these dental techniques depends on the patient’s needs and the type of procedure he’ll go through. Local anesthetics are typically used to numb the area so that you won’t feel any pain or discomfort during the treatment. There are two types of anesthetics used in dentistry: topical and injectable. Topical anesthetics are applied on the gum using a swab or an adhesive patch. This reduces the stinging sensation the patients experience when an injectable anesthesia is used. On the other hand, injectable anesthesia is employed to alleviate pain in the area where the procedure will take place. What it does is block the nerve endings and temporarily numb the mouth tissues. Injectables are administered during root canals, tooth extraction and other tooth restoration procedures.

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