San Antonio sedation dentist helps you get treatment

Fear of the dentist keeps many people from seeking important oral health care. San Antonio sedation dentists, Drs. Christopher J. Holland and Chrysalis Heinkel, at New Image Dentistry are fully trained to alleviate discomfort, giving patients a fear-free dental experience.

What’s behind dental anxiety?

Registered Dental Hygienist, an online resource for dental professionals, states that people fear the dentist because they worry about loss of control, the condition of their teeth, and pain. Additionally, nervous patients may have difficulty sitting still for long periods of time or have claustrophobia, extremely sensitive teeth or overactive gag reflexes. Past bad experiences at the dentist factor in as well.  Your San Antonio sedation dentist at New Image Dentistry solves the issues with oral and IV sedation solutions custom-tailored to individual patient need.

Assessing the need for sedation

Drs. Holland and Heinkel perform gentle oral examinations in a warm, friendly atmosphere at New Image Dentistry. They willingly discuss a phobic patient’s worries and prescribe sedation options that comfortably and safely get patients through needed dental work. Included in treatment plans are complete understanding of the individual’s medical and surgical history, including current medications and drug allergies. This information gives the dentists a complete picture of the patient’s needs and desires.

San Antonio sedation dentistry options

The common pain shot offers people undergoing extractions, fillings, root canals and other restorative procedures numbing relief from discomfort. Unfortunately, this local anesthesia does nothing to alleviate dental anxiety. So, your San Antonio sedation dentists use oral conscious sedation, or tranquilizers, and IV conscious sedation, medication administered through a needle in the arm, to confer a feeling of relaxation. They often employ nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, as the sole sedation or to augment other methods.

Nitrous oxide has helped anxious patients literally for decades. Administered as a gas through a nasal mask, nitrous oxide allow patients to feel so relaxed they are often giddy or even euphoric–hence, its common nickname, “laughing gas”. The dentist can increase or decrease the amount given as needed, and the effects of laughing gas wear off almost immediately afterwards.

Oral sedation encompasses a variety of common tranquilizers such as Valium, Halcion and Ativan. Prescribed and taken before the dental appointment, oral sedation completely relaxes the individual, many times to the point of napping during treatments. The dental team fully monitors the patient’s oxygen levels, respirations, heart rate and blood pressure. After the dental visit, a friend or loved one must drive the patient home.

IV sedation, given through a needle in the arm, also calms the patient. The dentist may increase or decrease the dosage as needed. Patients usually drop off to sleep and commonly have no memory of their dental work afterwards. As with oral sedation, the patient must be escorted home and should not drive or operate machinery until the next day.

Is sedation dentistry in San Antonio right for you?

Find out during a consultation with Dr. Heinkel or Dr. Holland at New Image Dentistry. You can get the dental treatments you deserve and be relaxed and comfortable while doing it.  Contact the office today for a one on one appointment.