Too many Albertans forego critical dental care and avoid essential dental treatment because of anxiety. Many more Albertans are comfortable with going to see a dentist in Sherwood Park, but have difficulty staying physically comfortable during appointments or treatment. Other situations are more complicated, perhaps by physical or cognitive disabilities or by nervous reactions that can make treatment more difficult and recovery more complicated.
Thankfully, your dentist can offer a solution to all those issues. Sedation dentistry in Sherwood Park is available to ensure you and your loved ones received all necessary dental care and treatment — even in those unique circumstances. At Aspire Smiles, we understand that dental treatment can be stressful and difficult and are committed to doing everything possible to eliminate those stresses to ensure you get the care you need. One way we do that is by investing in and providing sedation dentistry near you.
Can sedation dentistry help you or your family? Here are four situations where sedation dentistry may be appropriate. If, after reading this, you feel like sedation dentistry near you may make routine or urgent dental care more accessible, contact a dentist near you to ask what options they have available.
Sedation dentistry can help with dental anxiety
Many people experience anxiety or phobia related to the sounds, smells, sights, and vibrations associated with dentistry. Sedation dentistry can help adults — and children, too — relax so that their normal and natural anxiety does not interfere with treatment.
Sedation dentistry can make performing multiple procedures possible
If your dentist has recommended that you undergo multiple procedures affecting different teeth — or particularly complex procedures — you may be concerned about your physical endurance and ability to withstand or even just to stay still for as long as required. Sedation dentistry can relax your body enough to make performing multiple procedures possible. This can have the benefit of reducing the number of appointments you may need to attend.
Sedation can help ease treatment for patients with physical or cognitive disabilities
Many people who require dental treatment also have other medical issues and personal characteristics that can complicate treatment. Some physical disabilities and cognitive disabilities make staying still or calm during treatment very difficult. Sedation dentistry can help patients by ensuring they receive the treatment that they need with as little stress as possible, and helps the dentist too by allowing them to focus on treatment with as few potential distractions as possible.
Sedation dentistry can make treatment easier and healing faster
Even if you don’t consciously experience dental anxiety and aren’t aware of any medical issues affecting your ability to receive treatment, you may have some habits that can — unbeknownst to you — make treatment much harder. One very common habit is the instinctive tendency to clench your jaw and grind your teeth. Working around a clenched jaw makes it much harder for a dentist near you to provide treatment. That clenching also exerts a great deal of stress on your neck, jaw and facial muscles that will require recovery after your dental work is done. Dental sedation can produce physical relaxation to ease the clenching of your jaw. That effect will make treatment easier and faster, and will shorten your recovery time.
Dental sedation comes in many forms that can be adjusted according to your personal needs and circumstances. There are four common types of sedation (varying in intensity from lowest to highest level of sedation): nitrous oxide (laughing gas), oral sedation (a prescription taken via a tablet); intravenous sedation through a needle placed in your arm; and general anesthesia (in which case you are unconscious).
If you believe you would benefit from sedation dentistry to ensure you receive the dental care and treatment that you need, contact a dentist in Sherwood Park to find out what options are available to help you.