Dental anxiety is very common. Nearly a fourth of all people experience some level of dental anxiety, with many people having anxiety so bad that they can’t get dental care.
There are many potential ways to address dental anxiety. However, sedation dentistry is one of the most powerful and popular because it offers so many benefits. Let Butler sedation dentist, Dr. Bob Fornalczyk, help you enjoy these benefits at your next dental appointment.
Address All Dental Fears
Part of the reason dental anxiety is common is that it can have many different sources. Some people might respond to the smells of dentistry. Others might react to the sounds. Still, others might get anxious about dental implements.
One of the most powerful things about sedation dentistry is that it has the ability to help you overcome all types of dental anxiety. No matter the source of your dental fear, sedation dentistry can give you the power to overcome it.
Get the Dental Care You Need
Of course, the goal of sedation dentistry is to help you get necessary dental care. This does more for you than ensuring you have an attractive, healthy smile.
Without proper dental care, you increase your risk of health problems that extend beyond your mouth, including diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and more. Sedation dentistry helps you head off these and other health problems.
Be in Control of Your Oral Health
There is a feeling of helplessness that can come from having fear control your life. Sedation dentistry is a way for you to take control back from your fear. It gives you the ability to make decisions about your life, rather than letting your fear make them for you.
Choose the Level of Sedation You Need
You are in control with sedation dentistry in Butler. Sedation dentistry doesn’t necessarily mean “sleep dentistry.” You don’t have to be unconscious with sedation dentistry. You can choose how much sedation you need, even if that’s just a little bit to take off the edge of your nerves, up to and including, being completely unconscious.
Control Your Gag Reflex
Sedation dentistry does more than just help with dental fears–it helps with symptoms that are related to anxiety, though you might not know it.
You may have a strong gag reflex that may be related to low-level anxiety, which makes you especially sensitive to objects in your mouth. Sedation dentistry can lessen your gag reflex, whether it’s related to anxiety or not.
Get Numb More Easily
Difficulty getting numb is also often linked to dental anxiety. When you’re anxious, you are closely focused on pain sensations, which means you have a higher threshold for pain sensitivity. You need more numbing to control the pain. In addition, when you’re anxious, your body works harder to break down and eliminate dental anesthesia.
By reducing your anxiety and sensitivity, sedation dentistry in Butler makes it easier for you to get numb at the dentist. Sedation dentistry can also provide its own numbing. Nitrous oxide, for example, used to be the primary anesthetic for dental procedures.
Sit Still for Dental Your Appointment
Whether you have dental anxiety or just a general need to move, it can be hard to sit still for a dental appointment.
Sedation dentistry can help you sit still for your dental visits. It can take away that urge to move, whether it’s due to your anxiety or just impatience.
Get More Work Done in Fewer Visits
If you are better able to sit still for dental visits, you can make longer dental appointments. This lets you get more work done in each visit. That way, you can handle more complex dental procedures without having to make as many dental appointments in Butler.
By consolidating more work into fewer visits, getting dental work becomes more convenient. It takes up less of your time, it’s easier to schedule, and you’ll get your final results faster.
Avoid Soreness After Your Dental Visits
While some people move and fidget during dental visits, other people tense and clench. You might not clench your teeth, but you aggressively hold your jaw open. Your back becomes rigid, and your arms hold tight to the dental chair. At the end of your dental visit–or maybe the next day–you feel the results: painful, tender muscles.
Sedation dentistry helps you avoid this problem. It lets you relax while at the dentist so you’re not tensing your muscles and suffering muscle soreness afterward.
Build Experiences of Peaceful Dental Visits
Taking control of your oral health isn’t just empowering, it can lead to personal growth. Once you start making regular dental visits, you can gain greater familiarity with the dentist, and the things that caused you to fear can become less fearful. Over time, you may find that you have less and less dental anxiety.
For many people, this means that sedation dentistry is just a temporary solution. You might use it for a while, but you get lighter and lighter doses until you are able to go to the dentist without fear.
Get Sedation Dentistry in Butler
If you are trying to overcome your dental anxiety, let Advanced Dentistry of Butler help. Butler sedation dentist Dr. Bob Fornalczyk is a DOCS-trained dentist capable of helping you safely get sedation so you can achieve your dental health and other personal goals.
To learn more about how sedation dentistry can help you, please call (724) 282-4436 or email Advanced Dentistry of Butler today for an appointment at our office in Oak Hills, near Butler Community College.
