Does the thought of going to the dentist fill you with dread? You’re not alone. Dental anxiety – that is, the fear or stress associated with the dentist’s chair – is actually quite common.
Anything dental related can set off dental anxiety: needles and drills, of course, but also that big overhead light that dentists use to shine light into your face or even the sound of those suction devices hygienists use to clear your mouth of mucus.
The signs of dental anxiety are pretty much the same as the symptoms of any kind of anxiety:
- Sweating
- Racing heartbeat
- Low blood pressure
- Signs of panic or distress
- Crying
- Withdrawal
Dental anxiety might sound irrational or even silly, but it can have serious consequences, if it causes patients to delay or avoid dental treatment. And, as we all know, regular dental check-ups, cleanings and X-rays are vital for maintaining your oral health.
Luckily, there are many ways to help people manage dental anxiety.
The simplest and least invasive is to use some psychological techniques like:
- Deep breathing
- Meditation
- Distracting yourself by listening to music or watching a video on your phone
- Progressive muscle relaxation
- Guided imagery
- Cuddling under a weighted blanket
- Hypnosis
- Establishing with your dentist a hand signal so he or she knows to give you a break.
That might work for many people, but for particularly anxious patients there is another option: sedation.
You might be familiar with the term laughing gas, which is known by its scientific name nitrous oxide. When you’re given laughing gas, a mask is put over your mouth and you breathe a mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide for a few minutes. It relaxes you, but you stay awake.
For most people, the experience is very pleasant, and you won’t necessarily remember everything once the dental visit is over and the gas has worn off.
Another form of sedation is oral sedation, where you’re given a short-acting, small, single-dose medication to relax. For this form of sedation, you simply take a pill prior to your appointment.
But beware, you’ll need to bring someone with you to your appointment to drive you home. You probably should have someone stay with you until the effects of the pill have worn off completely, too.
The last type of sedation you might try is IV sedation, also known as Intravenous Conscious Sedation or simply “sleep dentistry.” This term isn’t exactly descriptive, as with sleep dentistry you’re not asleep as you are with general anesthesia. Rather, with this type of sedation you’ll be put into a deeply relaxed state, much like what happens when you take oral sedation. Only this time, the relaxation is induced via an IV.
This Orleans dentist just happens to offer all three of these types of sedation at its practice in Ontario, Canada.
