A vast number of Americans every year make a point to avoid dentists due to a fear of having their teeth worked on. If you’re one of these individuals who just can’t bring yourself to open wide, consider the advancements in dentistry today that can make your visit bearable.
Maybe it’s a bad childhood memory or a particularly painful root canal. Maybe you’ve had too many cavities filled or don’t like the feeling of having your teeth scraped. Or maybe you’ve never been comfortable enough with dentists to visit one and are nervous about being poked and prodded by all those intimidating tools.
Whatever reason you have for not wanting to have your teeth cleaned or examined,
there are many others like you. A fear of the dentist is something many individuals experience at one point in their lives, and some are never able to get over it.
Whether you’re afraid of anything involving a visit to the dentist’s office or just a specific treatment or procedure, one thing is for sure - it’s in your best interest to find a way around it, because dental health is a key aspect of your overall health.
Luckily for anyone who is afraid of having their teeth worked on, dentists nowadays have more ways to make everything from a routine cleaning to a root canal as painless and comfortable as possible.
For many people, sedation is the only way a visit to the dentist can be bearable, and today dentists have numerous options to do everything from helping to take the edge off to inducing sleep itself.
Nitrous oxide, more commonly known as laughing gas, is one of the most common forms of sedation and is offered by dental offices all across the country. It is administered through a mask that the patient must wear across the nose during the procedure and helps to settle nerves and eliminate pain.
Various tranquilizers can induce grogginess that helps to eliminate pain and often causes the individual to have no lasting memory of the procedure, but also allows the patient to maintain consciousness and be able to respond to the doctor and his or her attendants.
More involved treatments include intravenous sedation, which is applied through an injection and sends the patient into a sleep-like state, but requires that the individual’s vital signs be monitored during the procedure.
General anesthesia, which is the most common form of medical sedative, induces unconsciousness and is typically used during more serious and involved procedures. Both intravenous sedation and general anesthesia require the dentist to have additional training and certification, or make necessary the presence of a specialist who is trained in these areas.
While sedatives of all types are readily available at most dental practices, they are often not covered by insurance. Any patient considering one of these treatments should consult with his or her insurance company to determine who will be responsible for footing the bill.
No matter what level of sedative you may feel that you need to overcome your fear of dentists, it may be in your best interest to consider exploring your options. The sooner you are comfortable enough in the big chair to get your teeth cleaned, the better off and more healthy your whole body will be.
