Sleep Dentistry

Is going to the dentist something that you do not look forward to? Do you wish you could just close your eyes and fall asleep while the dentist extracts or cleans your teeth? There is actually a technique to accomplish this in modern dentistry called sleep dentistry. As the name of this modern technique implies, the dentist will usually put the patient in a very relaxed state by using sedatives or anesthesia while doing some dental procedures. This technique is also called sedation dentistry and can only be done by licensed sedation dentists. If you want to know more about this new method in modern dentistry, then read the following information.

If you want to try sedation dentistry, you should go to the dentist beforehand. The dentist will then give you some medications that will make you drowsy, not completely asleep, only in a state of semi-consciousness. You need to take these medications before you go to the dentist, which means you need another person to take you to the dental office.

The patients of sedation dentistry are not really unconscious. It is like being neither awake nor asleep. They usually do not know that the dentist is already doing the procedure, for example, tooth extraction. And when they wake up, they will remember only a small part of what took place or sometimes none at all.

If you are extremely terrified to go to the dentist or if you have dental phobia, then you can request for this kind of procedure. Or if the patient has to undergo a painful procedure that requires several hours to finish, the dentist will suggest sleep dentistry as a best option. Children who are scared of dentists looking inside their mouths will also benefit from sedation dentistry, although you must be very careful as they require much lower dosages of sedatives.

There are four kinds of sedation dentistry; oral sedation dentistry, nitrous oxide sedation, intravenous or iv sedation dentistry, and general anesthesia. Taking oral sedatives is the most popular and most commonly used method when working with a sleep or sedation dentist. These come in the form of pills and you have to take it one hour before your dentist appointment. Nitrous oxide puts the patient in a very relaxed state but still conscious, just like the oral sedatives. Intravenous sedative dentistry is also a kind of conscious sedation dentistry wherein the sedatives pass directly to the blood stream. The only type which permits an unconscious patient is general anesthesia. This is used only in special conditions like long and complicated procedures or extreme phobias.

I hope this information has been useful and might help you decide to try sleep dentistry. However, it would still be best to ask your dentist about it.