Fear keeps many of us from doing things we want or need to do. Fear of the dentist or dental procedures is one of the main reasons people avoid needed or wanted dental work. This no longer needs to be the case.
With topical anesthetic,skill,patience, and care, the act of “getting numb’ can be a comfortable and virtually painless procedure. Most of our patients will tell us they felt virtually nothing as I was administering local anesthetic. Once profound anesthesia is acquired dental procedures are comfortable and pleasant. If patients are extremely anxious we can administer nitrous oxide, laughing gas, which relaxes you even more. The affects of nitrous oxide are almost instantaneous, and can be reversed within a matter of minutes with no lingering systemic affects.
Some patients feel these measures may not be enough. For these patients I can prescribe an antianxiety medication,like Xanax. This medication can be taken the night before the appt. and a short time before the scheduled appointment to reduce anxiety and make the procedure a pleasant one. If a patient is extremely fearful and anxious then we can provide a service known as conscious sedation. This procedure involves a very specific combination of medications given to the patient both before and after the appointment. Once they have reached the proper level of sedation the patient is able to respond to directions given, and has all protective reflexes, but is blissfully unaware of the procedures being performed, and has virtually no memory of the appointment. In order to provide conscious sedation the dentist must receive advanced training and be properly certified. Dr. Deborah Shoemaker, who recently joined our practice, is certified to provide conscious sedation to our patients.
So don’t let fear keep you from getting the dental care you need or want. Modern dentistry has many methods of providing comfortable, pleasant, experiences along with excellent dentistry. We have the ability to provide all of the above discussed options. As always your comfort is extremely important to us. Give us a call if you have any questions at 502-423-7868, or visit our website at smilesbycarroll.com.
When you’ve just gotten back from a New Year’s Eve party and your head hits the pillow, you probably think you’re about to get a great night’s sleep. That is until you wake up in the middle of the night and your jaw feels incredibly stiff. Even if you are able to get back to sleep, chances are you’ll wake up with significant jaw pain.
