Dental Sedation Can Ease Your Dental Anxiety
How common is dental phobia?
According to experts, as many as 40 million Americans suffer from dental
anxiety, many of whom avoid the dentist completely.
The dentists at Creating Smiles know that this is a serious issue for anyone
who has to deal with this situation. More importantly, we know we can help at
our dentist offices in Valparaiso and St. John, IN.
Believe it or not, we want to see patients who haven’t been to the dentist in
years. We know that avoiding dental care greatly increases your risk of oral
health problems and even dental emergencies.
It’s also why sedation dentistry is an important part of what we do. We know —
and we have seen — how much of a difference this can make for our patients and
for their oral health.
We Want You To Feel Comfortable
If we have learned anything, we have learned that it’s much easier to help a
patient who is relaxed. It’s better for you and for the dentist or hygienist
who is helping you.
Our concern about dental anxiety isn’t just about providing basic oral care.
That is part of it, but we are also concerned about how anxiety affects you.
When you feel anxious, your body feels stressed. When your body is stressed, it
releases stress hormones. That can lead to muscle tension, headaches, rapid
heart rate, and increased blood pressure among other issues.
Another concern is anxiety can cause you to experience a “fight or flight”
sensation. You can trust us when we say that we don’t want you to do either of
those things.
Dental sedation can help you remain calm and comfortable during your visit with
us.
Oral Sedation
At our practice, we offer oral conscious sedation for our patients.
This is simple for everyone involved. All you have to do is take a pill before
your appointment. We wait to make sure the medicine has taken effect before we
begin your treatment.
Once we know you are in a relaxed state of mind, we can perform a basic cleaning
and examination or more complicated procedures. You won’t feel anything, and
more often than not, you won’t remember anything about your procedure.
The medicine will leave you feeling drowsy or groggy. You may fall asleep.
We also are able to handle procedures that may have been spread out over
multiple visits in a single visit when patients are under sedation. This means
sedation dentistry could mean fewer trips to our office. As much as we enjoy
seeing all our patients, we know some of you would prefer to come to the
dentist office less frequently.
You MUST make arrangements for a family member or friend to bring you to and
from our office if you choose to receive oral sedation. The effects of the
medication can last for hours, and you should not drive until it has completely
worn off.
Who Are Good Candidates For Sedation Dentistry?
In general, anyone who has dental anxiety, although this is recommended for
patients with higher levels of dental fear.
However, we do want to be a little more specific.
If you have avoided the dentist for years because of you anxiety, sedation
dentistry can make it much easier for you to get back in a dental chair.
If you have a fear of pain, oral sedation is great for that. One of the
features of our medicine is that it is an analgesic. It prevents you from
feeling pain while you are under its effects.
Many patients have a sensitive gag reflex, this is a great option for those
patients, too. When you are sedated, your muscles stay relaxed so you don’t
respond the same way to the instruments used to clean your teeth or to take
X-rays.
In our practice, we have learned that sedation dentistry is often the first
step in a process. Many patients came to us or were referred to our office
because of their dental anxiety.
When they came for their first appointments, they used sedation dentistry to
get through it. As they became more comfortable with us, many also stopped
asking for sedation.
We are proud that we can say that we have helped patients overcome their dental
anxiety. We just might be able to help you, too.
Take The First Step
We want to be clear. Sedation dentistry is not a magic pill. If you have dental
anxiety, it’s not going to vanish in a single visit to Creating Smiles.
Our hope, however, is that you will feel a little less anxious after each
appointment. Maybe, working together, we can lessen your fear of the dentist
one little bit at a time.
To learn about us or about dental sedation, use our online contact form or call
either of our offices, 219-322-9920 for St. John and 219-462-1970 for
Valparaiso.
About Us
Creating Smiles, PC, located in St. John and Valparaiso, Indiana, offers everything you need for a healthy smile and a healthier life. Dr. Kapers and his team can take the anxiety and uncertainty out of dental visits with sedation dentistry, and we're the premier provider of dental implants in the region.