You know that you have dental anxiety. You also know that you should go to the dentist for preventive care.
You know that dental visits reduce your risk of tooth decay and gum disease. Yet, your anxiety makes it difficult to make an appointment, much less to walk into a dentist’s office and sit down in a dental chair.
If you live in or near Lexington, KY, there is a way you can get the dental care you need while managing your anxiety. You just need to find the right Beaumont Family Dentistry office for you.
We offer three types of dental sedation, two of which are available at all three of our locations.
It’s OK To Be Anxious
The first thing we want you to know is that it’s OK to be anxious about going to the dentist everyone feels anxiety at times. Our staff at Beaumont Family Dentistry treats patients every week who go through different levels of anxiety.
Some people have a general anxiety about general dental care, while others feel high anxiety about a specific treatment or procedure. It’s important for us to let you know that there is nothing wrong with you if you have those feelings.
We want to work with you to find a way to manage your anxiety.
For some people, this means receiving an arm or hand massage from a professional masseuse during their visits. We also offer paraffin hand dips, lip balm if your mouth becomes dry, and headphones to provide a distraction during your treatment.
For your comfort, we have installed Tempur-Pedic dental chairs, and we can give you pillows, a blanket, or both to help you feel cozy and comfortable.
Our Hamburg office also offers private operatories if that is something that will help you feel more comfortable.
When Dental Sedation Is A Good Idea
The comfort options we mentioned about make it easier for many people to come in for a cleaning on a regular basis.
For other patients, it takes a little more to help them stay calm. We want your experience at any of our offices to be as stress-free and pain-free as possible. This is why we offer sedation dentistry as well.
Dental sedation has several advantages for you as a patient.
The first benefit is that it will alleviate your anxiety. Any form of dental sedation will make it much easier for you to relax throughout your visit. This is one of the primary reasons that many patients opt for sedation as part of their care.
Second, dental sedation will keep you from feeling pain. For many patients, fear of pain contributes to their dental anxiety. While we take steps to make your treatment as painless as it can be, dental sedation will assure that you don’t feel anything while you are in one of our chairs.
Third, you may not remember any of your treatment. For some patients, this is the biggest benefit of sedation dentistry. While you are not asleep, sedation does leave you less aware of what’s happening. As a result, you may remember bits and pieces of your visit or you may not remember any of your treatment.
Either way, you receive the full benefit of oral health care.
What Kind Of Sedation Dentistry Is Available?
If you come to any Beaumont Family Dentistry, you will have of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) or oral conscious sedation.
We only use nitrous oxide on children. This is a lighter form of sedation. With nitrous oxide, the patient inhales the gas throughout his or her cleaning or other procedure. At the end, we simply turn the gas off, and he or she will return to feeling like himself or herself by breathing normally.
With oral sedation, you will take medication. We can offer medicine to take the night before your appointment to help you sleep. You will take another pill on the day of your appointment. (You must arrange for someone else to drive you to and from your appointment.)
While you are under the effects of oral conscious sedation, you may feel like you are asleep, although you are in a state of reduced consciousness which will allow you to respond to a request from the dentist or hygienist., such as opening or closing your mouth or turning your head one way or the other.
The final form of sedation we offer is IV sedation. This is only available at our Hamburg office. Dr. Ryan J. Golibersuch works in this office, and he has completed the training necessary to offer IV sedation.
IV sedation is the strongest form of sedation we offer, it is recommended for patients with severe anxiety or patients who are undergoing longer, more complicated procedures. If you receive IV sedation, you will need a family member or friend to take you home.
Talk To Us About Sedation Dentistry
You can call any Beaumont Family Dentistry office in Lexington if you have questions about dental sedation.
You can reach us online or call the office closest to you to learn more or to make an appointment.