Dental anxiety is real for thousands of people and they often have poor dental health to prove it. If even the thought of a dental visit makes you feel anxious, you should know that solutions exist to ease your fears while you get your oral health in shape. To find out what you need to know about sedation during dental procedures, read on.

Why So Anxious?

If you were to quiz anxious dental patients, they might provide a variety of reasons for their emotional response to dental work. Some, however, cannot name a reason but feel fear and nervousness just the same. Some people put off going to the dentist for so long that what might have been taken care of with a simple filling or cleaning is now a major problem. Here are a few issues that make people ask for dental sedation:

1. Fear of needles.
2. Bad dental experiences in the past, perhaps even in childhood.
3. Strong gag reflex, which can cause not only trepidation but embarrassment.
4. Difficulties with anesthetics, such as numbing shots, in the past.
5. The dread that is connected to needing many different procedures that should all be performed at once.
6. Generalized anxiety disorders about many issues.

Know the Types of Sedation

When a dentist says that they offer sedation dentistry, you may need more information than that. You can have oral sedation and you can have intravenous (IV) sedation. Oral sedation is delivered via a pill and IV sedation is through a vein. When it comes to the main differences, only certain dentists can deliver IV sedation and it is considered safer due to the doses being carefully calculated and monitored.

For example, a pill comes only in certain sizes but IV sedation is based on body weight and can be adjusted during the procedure if it becomes necessary. It's important to understand that neither of the above forms of sedation will put you out completely. You will still be conscious and able to follow directions but you'll be extremely relaxed and may dose off at times. Patients using this type of sedation may not remember anything about the procedure itself. Be sure to verify that your dentist has someone on staff that is certified to provide IV sedation if you go that route.

The only sticking points about sedation dentistry for some patients is the need to have someone accompany them to the appointment to drive them home and insurance coverage. Speak to your dentist to find out more.

For more information, contact professionals such as Dr. Jon Douglas Lesan, DDS, RpH, PA.