Have you ever got goose bumps or a sense of fear while thinking of an oral treatment? Would you rather endure the pain of a toothache than stepping into a dentist’s clinic? If yes, don’t feel bad about yourself because you’re not alone. A lot of people are so phobic about the dental treatment or suffer from belonephobia that they prefer not to have any treatment, over visiting the dentist’s office. This sense of agony and stress that comes with the feeling of future agony or the illusion of the treatment, can can only be overcome or fought with the help of the Oral Sedation, a part of the Sedation Dentistry.
What is Oral Sedation?
Oral sedation is a medical procedure, comprising the administration of oral sedative drugs, generally to facilitate a dental procedure in order to reduce patient’s fear and anxiety related to the experience of the treatment. This is one of the available methods of Conscious Sedation Dentistry. Sedation can be used for everything from an invasive oral procedure to a simple tooth cleaning. How it’s used and the amount in which it is used, depends on the severity of the fear and anxiety. It can also be understood as the Oral Sedation works as a primer on Anxiolysis.
How it makes Patients, Fear-free?
The Oral Sedation has established efficacy and safety for managing anxiety regarding dental treatment. Now patients with belonephobia or prior dental trauma, suffering from oral/dental issues can have a relaxed and fear-free treatment with no sense of pain at all. This type of sedation gives the patient, ease of administration as there are no needles involved and the patient just have to take a pill and there is an instant amnesic effect.
Minimal and Moderate Oral Sedation
Although there are many types of sedations in medicals and their levels include minimal, moderate, deep and general anesthesia, but the types used in dentistry are two. Oral Sedation can range from minimal to moderate and this range is decided by the total dose given to the patient. For minimal sedation, you take one pill. Typically, the pill is Halcion, and is generally taken about an hour before the treatment. The pill will make you drowsy or a bit groggy, although you’ll still be awake, whereas for producing a moderate sedation, a larger dose should be given. It is the type of anesthesia that is most commonly associated with sedation dentistry. From moderate sedation, sometimes the patients become groggy enough to fall asleep during the procedure.
Hence, for the people who suffer from any oral or dental issue, yet avoid visiting the dentists, Oral Sedation is the best solution as it not only takes away some of their anxiety, but also gives them a sense of relief and relaxation.
