Nitrous Sedation
 For some people, making a dental appointment may cause extreme anxiety for any number of reasons. There are many unknown factors, such as pain, that especially when working so intimately within someone’s head that can be considered quite stressful. It may be a bit difficult to trust someone completely when it comes to anticipating your specific needs, but Geelan Dental Care understands how everyone is different and wants to exceed expectations when it comes to individual care plans.
Making Your Treatment Virtually Painless
Nobody likes to feel uncomfortable, which is why conscious sedation should be an essential part of your dental treatment. There are even topical numbing agents that can ease the sting of a needle so your experience can be pretty much pain-free. If the fear of how much it could hurt is one of the things that is holding you back from regular dental care, we feel confident that one of our primary methods of sedation may be what you need.
Those who do not mind a needle so much may take the intravenous route. The sedative is inserted into your vein, which means the moment it hits your bloodstream the relief can be immediate. For those who are especially nervous, a pill can be taken an hour before the procedure. You may even be given one the night before you can feel even more relaxed the next day.
The most common form of sedation is something many of us have heard of before. In the movies, we may sometimes see someone laughing in the dental chair while wearing a face mask. Known as laughing gas, nitrous oxide can be a favorite of many patients. It is an effective method of alleviating pain during treatment, which works every time.
Relaxing in Our Dental Chair
Sometimes nitrous oxide may be combined with IV or oral sedation for an even stronger effect. You use a small mask that fits over your nose to inhale the gas, which is combined with oxygen. Because nitrous oxide is odorless, there is no real difference compared with a breath of fresh air. Through normal breathing through your nose, within a couple of minutes, you should feel full-body euphoria. It can feel like being light-headed with some tingling but is not uncomfortable.
Once the mask is removed, it only takes a few minutes for the gas to wear off. It has been described as something that makes you feel giggly and completely relaxed, which is why it makes sense that so many patients can appreciate laughing gas as a preferred form of dental sedation. It can make dental treatment seem almost enjoyable.
We hope that through this information you may feel comfortable enough to come in for an exam. There are many ways available that we can work with your needs to ensure you can have optimal dental care. From nitrous sedation to digital imaging, not only can we speed up your treatment, so you spend less time in the chair, but we can also make checkups less stressful for you. For more information, please come see us here at Geelan Dental Care or give us a call to schedule an appointment at (971) 323-1990. |
