Dental anxiety affects patients of all ages. Many adults reschedule, postpone, and cancel dental appointments because they fear dental visits. At Vista Ridge Family Dentistry, we completely understand how debilitating dental anxiety can be. We offer sedation dentistry as one of our general dental care services in Cedar Park, TX, to help patients receive comfortable dental care.
Whether you always experience dental anxiety or you have a particularly nerve-wracking appointment coming up, we can help. Please don’t hesitate to ask our team about our dental sedation options. Our compassionate team always practices patience and empathy, and we will never do anything that a patient is uncomfortable with.
Benefits of Dental Sedation
In addition to general dental anxiety, sedation is useful in many ways. Sedation can help patients with these problems:
- Fear of pain
- Poor gag reflex
- Difficulty staying still
- Anxiety around loud noises
We want to ensure dental treatment is as stress and pain-free as possible. Our office understands patients can feel nervous about treatments like root canals or extractions. In some cases, we may recommend sedation for anxious patients.
Is Sedation Right For Me?
Before every treatment, we consider your medical conditions and current medicines. In part, this is because some health issues can increase your risk of dental problems.
We also want to ensure the sedation we use can safely interact with your medication or condition. In some cases, health problems can interfere with sedation. For instance, we will not recommend nitrous oxide if you have breathing problems.
We will not recommend anti-anxiety medication if you have liver or kidney problems. These problems can impact your metabolism, so we will not know when your medication will take effect.
Sedation Dentistry in Cedar Park, TX
There are multiple types of sedation we offer for patients in our dental office:
Nitrous Oxide
Nitrous oxide is the clinical term for laughing gas. We place a comfortable mask over the nose before administering nitrous oxide and oxygen. The effects of laughing gas begin quickly, and the patient may feel light-headed, relaxed, or like laughing.
Laughing gas is excellent for relieving mild dental anxiety. We often use laughing gas for minor procedures. After treatment, the patient breathes normal oxygen for a few minutes. The effects will subside, and it is usually safe for the patient to drive home.
Oral Conscious Sedation
We provide patients with oral medication in the office before the start of the appointment. The medication puts the patient into a sleepy, dream-like state, making them less aware of what is happening around them. As a result, time may feel slower, and the patient’s reflexes are often slower.
The patient may fall asleep during treatment but will not be unconscious. We provide oral conscious sedation for more complex treatments. Patients will need a friend or family member to wait in our office and drive them home after their appointment.
IV Sedation
During IV sedation, we administer the sedative through the bloodstream. We can use IV sedation for any dental visit, as a dental professional can control the amount of sedative.
IV sedation is also called “twilight” or “sleep” dentistry. The patient is conscious during treatment but may feel like they are asleep.
Patients can answer questions from our team, but they may not remember much of their appointment. IV sedation requires a trusted adult to stay and drive the patient home afterward.
Contact Our Dental Office
We always consider our patient’s medical history and current health status before recommending or prescribing dental sedation. If you have any questions or concerns for our team, please get in touch with our front office at 512-866-9654. You can also schedule a dental consultation online.