Dental anxiety is real. Many people have such a fear of the dentist that it’s all they can do to get themselves to the dentist twice a year for a check-up and teeth cleaning – in fact, there are many people who can’t even do that. Avoiding the dentist ultimately results in poor oral health, decay, infection, and severe pain. Overcoming anxiety is not easy, but it is possible with help from sedation dentistry.
Reasons for Dental Anxiety
There are many reasons people may have anxiety about the dentist. Maybe they had a bad experience at the dentist as a child. They’re worried about their diagnosis and resulting dental work. They worry about pain. They have a severe gag reflex. They don’t like the idea of the someone’s hands in their mouth. They’re embarrassed about the condition of their teeth.
There is no right or wrong reason for anxiety, the simple fact is that the feeling exists. Patients who fall into this category can usually make themselves get to the dentist for regular check-ups, even though they find it unpleasant. If you simply cannot make yourself see the dentist and are suffering for it, you may have a dental phobia, and that’s a much bigger issue.
Intense and unreasonable fear of the dentist from start to finish prevents some people from enduring even a basic exam and cleaning. The reality though is that, even though you may take great care of your teeth at home, that isn’t enough to fight plaque, bacteria, and build-up. Eventually, you can face tooth decay, gum disease, pain, and more.
Logically, you know that avoiding the dentist isn’t doing you any favors, and you know that not getting professional attention on your teeth makes you far more likely to suffer discomfort and in-depth repairs in the future, whether you like it or not.
Sedation Dentistry Helps Manage Dental Anxiety
The goal is to maintain your oral health without suffering undue stress. To make it easier for you to get in the door of your Johns Creek dentist when you need to, there is sedation dentistry, which is available in oral sedation and laughing gas.
Many patients opt for sedation dentistry even if they don’t have dental anxiety, especially patients who are having multiple procedures done at one time. The sedation allows your dentist to work more efficiently and without interruption and helps make you feel like the work is done quickly.
With oral sedation, patients take a pill orally an hour before the procedure begins. This sedation makes you feel a little sleepy but still alert enough to answer questions. Should you choose this type of anti-anxiety help, you will need someone to accompany you to this appointment and drive you home.
Laughing gas is inhaled through a small mask placed over the nose and produces a light level of sedation to help you relax. The effects wear off quickly once the laughing gas is removed.
The best-case scenario? Sedation dentistry helps calm you so dramatically that you can experience a nice dental visit under gentle hands and begin to shift your perception of the experience.
See Your Johns Creek Dentist for Gentle Dentistry
We focus on making each of our patients feel calm and comfortable during their dental appointments. Gentle dentistry is our way and you will experience it through every interaction with our entire staff, including front desk, technicians, hygienists, assistants, and dentists.
Schedule your appointment today to talk about your needs and concerns. At Family & Cosmetic Dental Care, we serve Johns Creek, Duluth, Alpharetta, Suwanee, and the surrounding areas and we are ready to help you on the path to good oral health, patiently and kindly.
