What is Dentophobia?
It can probably be said that a visit to the dentist isn’t exactly anyone’s favorite pastime, but for some people it poses an extreme challenge. An estimated 60% of adults in the United States claim to experience some amount of fear in regards to visiting the dentist. ‘Dentophobia’, whether mild or severe, can affect people of all ages and can range from mild to debilitating.
While it may seem like the easiest solution would be to skip those check-ups and try to maintain a healthy brushing and flossing routine, the truth is that dental health varies dramatically from person to person. Factors like diet, genetics, stress, and pregnancy, to name a few, can all lead to a decline in oral health. Although some people may be able to last for years without problems, others are more prone to tooth decay and gum disease no matter how well they brush and floss. What was once a small, simple cavity to fill could go unnoticed and eventually become a much more severe problem. This can result in more invasive and costly procedures, or perhaps worse.
The Very Best Care for You
If you, or someone in your care, experiences anxiety over going to the dentist, it is important that you find a dentist who will listen to your concerns and discuss the best options for you prior to any treatment.
Dr. Lorscheider and our highly skilled team at Lone Peak Dental make it our mission to go the extra mile for our all of our patients. Our goal is to provide our patients with gentle, but thorough care each and every time. We offer complimentary consultations and encourage our patients to discuss their concerns with us to determine the best individualized approach to their care. It is important to us that our patients feel both comfortable and confident in our skills and services. However, we do recognize that might not always be enough for individuals with an extreme dental phobia. In such cases, these patients may opt for sedation to help ease their fears.
What is Sedation Dentistry?
Sedation is an effective, low-cost way to ease anxiousness someone may feel about dental treatment. The sedation procedure involves a medical professional administering sedative medication to help relieve fears related to the experience. There are three types of sedation commonly used in dentistry:
Nitrous Oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, is a gas inhaled through a special mask, quickly acting to relax the patient. Its effects are very mild and wear off quickly, therefore not a viable option for a more in-depth procedure.
Oral Sedation requires patients to take a prescribed dose of medication as directed by their dentist. Though the patient is awake for the procedure he/she is relaxed and my not even recall much of the procedure after it has happened.
Deep Sedation involves the patient receiving sedatives intravenously. While in deep sedation, a patient is very sleepy, relaxed in consciousness and unable to feel pain, but not completely unconscious. Patients are still able to be roused by the dentist, if necessary.
How Lone Peak Dental Does Sedation
For patients with extreme difficulty in tolerating dental treatments, we recommend using deep sedation for a more relaxed and fearless dental visit. Lone Peak Dental has partnered with a highly trained anesthetic team to provide a safe and comfortable sedation service right in our office. If it is determined that you are a good candidate for sedation, we will move ahead with scheduling an appointment for treatment.
Once an appointment has been scheduled, you will be required to submit the necessary paperwork. While your comfort is of great importance to us, the safety of our patients is our number one priority. For this reason, a full and complete understanding of the necessary preparations for the procedure is vital. Our team will provide you with clear instructions for the time prior to and after your procedure.
Patients may experience varying degrees of recovery time, but will be required to remain at our office until it has been determined that they may safely go home. Typically this takes 30-45 minutes, but the effects of the sedation may take another 3-4 hours to wear off completely. The best thing you can do is go home and rest. As always, Dr. Lorscheider will give you his personal contact information for any after hours questions or concerns.
If you feel that sedation dentistry might be a good option for you or have more questions regarding sedation, please contact Lone Peak Dental at (801)492-0402 to schedule a complimentary consultation.