If you have claustrophobia, you pass on cave exploration. If you have acrophobia (fear of heights), you avoid skydiving. In either case, you can live a fulfilling life without participating in these activities.
What if you have dentophobia or a fear of the dentist? (Yes, it’s a real thing with an official name.) This is different than the phobias mentioned previously. Since dental visits are critical for oral health, it’s not a smart move to simply avoid dental treatment. At Advanced Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry, we want to make it easy on you.
Yet many individuals try to do just that. That is, until they have a problem that gets so painful they are impelled to white knuckle it through a dental visit. At that point, the treatment may be an extraction that could have been prevented with earlier intervention or preventative measures.
If you are plagued with severe anxiety when undergoing dental treatment, oral sedation is for you. Whether it is called sedation dentistry, oral conscious sedation, sleep dentistry, or anxiety-free dentistry, it has proven to be safe and effective.
Dentophobia is complex and may be accompanied by any of the following:
- Teeth sensitivity
- Fear of needles
- A strong gag reflex
- Difficulty in controlling body movement
- Difficulty becoming numb with standard injections
With oral conscious sedation, dentistry patients can relax or even sleep through dental treatment.
You select the level of sedation required:
- Mild sedation: relaxes you while you remain conscious.
- Moderate sedation: provides a deeper level of relaxation with partial consciousness.
- Deep sedation: you are almost completely unconscious but can be awakened.
- General anesthesia: This sends you to dreamland from which you awake after it’s over with no memory of the procedure.
For more information on oral sedation dentistry, schedule an appointment today.
Contact Advanced Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry:
(206) 381-3055
Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):
901 Boren Ave #1940, Seattle, WA
Seattle, WA
98104