If you have claustrophobia, you forego cave exploration. If you have acrophobia (fear of heights), you avoid skydiving. In either case, you can live a fulfilling life without engaging in these activities.
What if you have dentophobia or a fear of the dentist? (Yes, it’s a real thing with an official name.) This is different than the phobias mentioned previously. Since dental visits are essential for a healthy smile, it’s not wise to simply avoid dental treatment.
Yet many individuals try to do just that. That is, until they have a problem that gets so painful they are forced to white knuckle it through a dental visit. At that point, the treatment may be an extraction that could have been prevented with earlier intervention or preventative treatments.
If you are plagued with severe anxiety when undergoing dental treatment, oral sedation is for you. Whether it is called relaxation dentistry, oral conscious sedation, sleep dentistry, or anxiety-free dentistry, it has proven to be safe and effective.
Dentophobia is complex and may be accompanied by any of the following:
- Teeth sensitivity
- Fear of needles
- A strong gag reflex
- Difficulty in controlling body movement
- Difficulty becoming numb with standard injections
With oral conscious sedation, dentistry patients can relax or even sleep through dental treatment.
You select the amount of sedation necessary:
- Mild sedation: relaxes you while you remain conscious.
- Moderate sedation: provides a deeper level of relaxation with partial consciousness.
- Deep sedation: you are almost entirely unconscious but can be awakened.
- General anesthesia: this sends you to dreamland from which you awake after it’s over with no memory of the service.
For more information on oral sedation dentistry, contact us at 781-245-2299
Contact Future of Dentistry:
Locations (Tap Below To Open Your Office In Google Maps):
Future of Dentistry – Billerica
668 Boston Rd
Billerica, MA 01821
978-663-4303Future of Dentistry – Dracut
149 Pleasant St
Dracut, MA 01826
978-957-1811Future of Dentistry – North Andover/Willows Dental Group
795 Turnpike St
North Andover, MA 01845
978-685-8313Future of Dentistry – Wakefield
968 Main St
Wakefield, MA 01880
781-245-2299Future of Dentistry – Chelmsford
3 Courthouse Ln
Chelmsford, MA 01824
978-970-2089