Afraid of the Dentist? Try Sedation Dentistry Near Washington IL
Whether irrational or influenced by fear and past traumas, dentophobia is a perfectly normal phobia for people to have. Dentophobia, or a fear of the dentist, unfortunately, is counterintuitive for those who want or need to take care of their teeth and oral health overall. Yet, thanks to dentist offices like Total Dental Care, a trip to the dentist doesn’t have to be a scary experience. We offer sedation dentistry near Washington IL for clients contending with fear and anxiety over dental treatments. Contact Total Dental Care today to schedule your appointment!
Why Sedation Might Be Your Best Option
As important as your oral health is to your overall physical well-being, you don’t want to neglect it. So, when a fear of the dentist prevents you from visiting one, your phobia contributes to the deterioration of your oral health. At Total Dental Care, we want to help those patients who feel controlled by their dentophobia. Thanks to sedation dentistry, our patients experience benefits such as:
- Reduced Feelings of Anxiety – If you feel stress or anxiety during your dentist visit, sedation helps to relieve it. Even the most anxious patients can feel comfortable and at ease while in our office, thanks to sedation.
- Better Management of Pain – Although sedation does not directly impact pain like local anesthetics can, it does help you better manage pain by altering your perception of it. Plus, any fear of pain you might have is quickly forgotten with sedation medication.
- More Efficient Dental Visits – Those experiencing discomfort during their dentist visit can be challenging to keep seated for the entire appointment. Thankfully, proper sedation relaxes patients enough for a dentist to work unimpeded on their mouth and teeth.
- Controlled Gag Reflex – Some patients have trouble with dentists working in their mouth due to a sensitive gag reflex. With sedation, the muscles in an individual’s mouth and throat are relaxed, thus suppressing gagging during sensitive oral work.
- Memory Reduction – For those with severe dentophobia, specific sedation methods can reduce the memory of dental procedures. In turn, this selective amnesia can help mitigate additional fear or trauma over future dentist visits.
Total Dental Care’s Primary Sedation Methods
When it comes to sedation dentistry in Washington, IL, Total Dental Care offers two unique sedation options for our patients: oral sedation or conscious inhalation sedation. Both types of sedation offer unique benefits for our clients and might work better for certain individuals depending on their total health history. Allow Total Dental Care to help you determine what type of sedation is best for your dental visit:
- Oral Sedation
- It is administered as a pill swallowed or dissolved before a patient’s dental appointment.
- Dosage levels can be tailored to each patient based on their health history and level of anxiety.
- Often, oral sedation provides an amnesic effect, which means that patients have little to no memory of their dental procedure.
- You’ll need a ride home after your dental treatment due to some lingering effects of oral sedation.
- Conscious Inhalation Sedation
- Also called “laughing gas,” nitrous oxide is administered to patients during dental procedures via a mask covering their nose.
- The level of sedation a patient receives can be adjusted on the fly to allow for more comfort during treatment.
- Inhalation sedation is a non-invasive, safe sedation medication that doesn’t involve the use of needles or pills.
- After a procedure, patients recover from the effects of inhalation sedation quickly, meaning they can drive home after a dentist visit.
Discuss Your Options with Total Dental Care
When you’re unsure or nervous about going to the dentist, allow Total Dental Care to instill you with confidence by giving sedation dentistry near Washington IL a try. To learn more about sedation and the procedures we can use it for, such as teeth cleaning, extractions, fillings, root canal therapy, etc., call 309-691-8033. Our dental office is located at 1424 W Glen Ave, Peoria, IL 61614.