Conscious Sedation in Dentistry for the Purpose of Alleviating Fear
Some people have a fear of the dentist for some reason. Many wonder how the anxiety feeling can be removed from their visits to a dentist. Some patients even faint during checkups, and some will even stay for long before seeing a dentist due to the anxiety, notwithstanding their dental issues. The anxiety and fear is, however, completely understandable. The fear of what could happen makes most people anxious. The inability to control what could happen may put people on edge. Other people abhor the idea of having another person put their hands inside their mouth.
Sedation dentistry
This is a form of dentistry that applies medication to assist patients in relaxing better during a dental procedure. Sometimes sleep dentistry is used in place of sedation dentistry. It must not be misconstrued to mean the general anesthesia. In this case patients are awake during the procedure.
Sedation levels
- Minimal sedation is where a patient remains awake under relaxation.
- Moderate sedation involves slight loss of consciousness. A patient may not recall most of the procedure.
- In deep sedation the patient is barely conscious but they could still get woken up.
- In general anesthesia the patient is completely unconscious of themselves.
Options to overcoming the anxiety
It is important to note that there is a solution to the anxiety and the fear. One of the extreme solutions is the option of having a complete sedation. This involves being completely numbed to sleep and only brought back to consciousness after the entire process of treatment has been completed. This option is only recommended for situations that are extreme. This is because there are many complications entailed. People with weaker hearts and the elderly may have serious problems with sedation. This type of treatment is not recommended for just any type of patient.
A professional dentist would prefer a discussion with the patient on how they have worked towards overcoming their anxiety and fear. Complete sedation may also be influenced by the extent of the dental problem at hand. For the patients suffering anxiety and fear they may have waited too long until their dental issues got out of hand therefore requiring some thorough surgical solutions to their problems.
Oral sedation: This sedation could be anywhere from minimal sedation to moderate sedation depending on the quantity of the dose given. Pills are often given to achieve minimal sedation. The pills given are often Halcion. The drug is taken one hour prior to the procedure. The pill makes the patient drowsy but they still remain awake. Larger doses could also be given to achieve moderate sedation. This anesthesia type is often used in sedation dentistry. Some people will actually fall asleep from a dose intended to achieve moderate sedation. Such patients can, however, be awaken by a gentle shaking.
Oral conscious sedation is the other option. This is for the people who just find it hard to visit a dentist for reasons of anxiety and fear. The option can be the difference in such a case. It is always advisable to visit the dentist at least once a year. If the stay has been longer it is urgent that you subject the anxiety, fear, or procrastination to yourself. Wake up and go see the dentist before the dental issues get out of hand.
