Most people have a little anxiety before going to the dentist. Many patients experience nerves before a procedure like a root canal or wisdom tooth removal. But for some, even simple check-ups can create major dental anxiety that prevents them from visiting the dentist for years. As a result, their dental health suffers, which can lead to even more concerns.
If this sounds like you, we want you to know that dental anxiety is normal and completely okay. At Mountain View Family Dental, we are here to support you during your visits and want to make the experience as comfortable as possible. Our office utilizes several different strategies to help our patients with dental anxiety. Learn more about our techniques, and when you are ready, give our friendly office a call to schedule an appointment.
Compassion and Communication
We know that successfully serving all our patients begins with a relationship of trust - but this is particularly critical when we are treating our patients with high dental anxiety. For this reason, our service begins by communicating with you. Listening to you with the intent to know your dental needs and understand your anxiety. We speak with you to discover your preferences, learn about your past dental experiences (both good and bad), and answer questions about your treatment and options to successfully achieve the care you want. We have many techniques to help our nervous patients - but often, creating a trusting atmosphere is sufficient to serve many patients’ needs.
Sedation Techniques For Dental Anxiety
Another method to overcome dental anxiety is using sedation during your visit. These techniques can range from mild to full sedation, depending on what’s best for your individual needs. Our office offers a range of sedation options and staff certified to administer these methods.
Laughing Gas
The mildest form of sedation available, laughing gas, is frequently used in many dental procedures. During your visit, you’ll wear a soft mask over your nose. An odorless, non-toxic gas and pure oxygen will flow through the mask, introducing a relaxed feeling during treatment that may bring on a state of euphoria that makes you laugh. Laughing gas offers many advantages. The amount of gas used can be customized to each patient, and the sedation effect occurs in just a few minutes but will not last long after your appointment. Because the effects are short-lived, you will be able to drive yourself home after your appointment, making it an ideal choice for many of our patients.
Oral Sedation
There are numerous medications available that offer deeper sedation than laughing gas. Before prescribing one, we’ll consider your specific needs to find the best option. All these medications produce the same effect: dramatic reduction of anxiety. They can bring comfort and even reduce memories of the appointment, allowing your dentist to complete their work in less time. Directly before your appointment, you’ll simply swallow a pill. Our staff will monitor your vital signs during treatment to ensure your safety throughout the visit. You will be awake and lucid, but very relaxed and may not remember much of the appointment. Since the side effects last longer than laughing gas, you must have an escort take you home.
IV Sedation
Our deepest level of sedation comes in the form of an IV, which allows the medication to flow through your bloodstream during treatment. This type of sedation will gently block your memory, so you will have little recollection of the treatment, eliminating any troubling thoughts you may have once you wake up. The medication will be administered by a Certified Nurse Anesthetist experienced in advanced anesthesia who will monitor your safety for the duration of the treatment. Since this sedation method involves strong medications, you will need an escort home.
Hear From Our Patients
Aside from our sedation and comfort techniques, our level of experience and expertise with many different dental concerns can also ease your nerves before your next visit. We offer services including:
● Cleaning and Prevention
● Minor procedures like extractions and tooth replacements
● Cosmetic services like whitening, crack and fracture repair
● Denture implants
● Orthodontics
● Wisdom teeth removal
We could tell you more about how much we care we put into every visit, but we think our patients can say it best. Our Reviews page shows just a few of our over 1,000 Google reviews from patients, some of whom suffered from extreme dental anxiety. Learn about their experiences with our dedicated staff and how they were able to help manage patients’ anxiety during their appointments.
We take your feelings very seriously when you visit our office. Dental anxiety should not be something that keeps you from going to the dentist, and our staff is here to help make sure you have excellent dental health. If you have questions about our methods for improving your comfort, feel free to contact us today to learn more.
