I haven’t gone to a dentist in years. I’m terrified of them. But, I’m also beginning to get embarrassed by my smile. I have a visible cavity on one of my front teeth. So I talked to a friend about how afraid I am and she mentioned dental sedation. The only thing that worries me is the safety of it. How safe is it?
Laura
Dear Laura,
How fantastic that you’re taking steps to improve your oral health. It’s not uncommon for people who avoid the dentist to be uncomfortable with their smile. You’re in a more urgent position having a cavity that you can see. These can limp along slowly or they can suddenly go deep and turn into a dental emergency. Because of that, you wouldn’t want to put this off. There’s the added benefit that the sooner you take care of this, the less invasive the treatment will be. You could get a simple filling as opposed to a root canal and porcelain crown.
Sedation dentistry is often a fantastic solution for people with dental anxiety. It allows them to have stress-free / pain-free appointments. Additionally, you’re able to get more work done in one appointment then you’d normally be able to do in one appointment. This helps you catch up on your neglected work much sooner than would otherwise be possible.
Upping Your Odds With Dental Sedation
Dental Sedation is very safe. However, it’s designed to take away your anxiety. We definitely don’t want it causing some. For someone with your anxiety level, we’d recommend oral conscious sedation. All you have to do is take a special pill. Though, it makes you a tad woozy. Because of that, we insist our patients have someone drive them to and from their appointment for safety reasons.
I think it will help put your mind at ease if you specifically chose a dentist who was DOCS certified. DOCS stands for The Dental Organization for Oral Conscious Sedation. Dentists who’ve taken the time to train with them are well versed in both the safety and emergency protocols to keep their patients in good health. Dr. Potts has done extensive training with them and is now awarded a fellowship. That’s the type of dentist you want to find in the area in which you live.
I hope this puts your mind at ease. This blog is brought to you by Libertyville, IL dentist Dr. David Potts.