Loading. Please wait...


DentalCare monthly updates

NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Quisque eget sem urna. Donec at vestibulum nibh, non bibendum est. Curabitur eget tincidunt eros.


Sedation Dentistry: Taking the Fear Out of the Dental Chair

01/Jul/2025

Many people suffer from dental fear and anxiety to the point that they avoid even routine dental checkups and cleanings. Unfortunately, ignoring your oral healthcare can have dire consequences, affecting not only your dental health but your overall general health as well. If you are nervous and fearful of dental visits, you may be interested to learn about the benefits of sedation dentistry.

Sedation dentistry is a safe and commonly utilized option for dental patients to help them relax and undergo dental procedures without fear or apprehension. Your sedation dentist can offer a variety of sedation choices, and will likely suggest the option they feel best suits your needs.

Conscious sedation allows you to remain fully awake and able to respond to commands while enjoying a comfortable and relaxed state. Some of the options for conscious sedation include:

  • Nitrous oxide, or “laughing gas”, leaves you feeling relaxed but responsive during dental procedures.
  • Oral sedatives can be taken about an hour before dental treatment and provide their calming effects before and during your dental appointment.
  • Intravenous sedation is administered through an IV and takes effect faster than oral medication. Your level of IV sedation is carefully monitored by your dentist and can be adjusted as needed.

Dental sedation allows you to undergo procedures as routine as a regular cleaning to more involved treatments like root canal therapy without anxiety and fear. You will remain awake but relaxed, and have little or no memory of your procedure. Consult with Weymouth sedation dentist Dr. Moghaddam to find out more about how sedation dentistry can ease your fear of the dental chair and allow you to get the dental care you need.

Our dental office is located in Weymouth


laughing-gas.jpg
01/Jul/2025

One of the most commonly used sedatives in dentistry is nitrous oxide, often referred to as laughing gas. It provides an effective technique in sedation dentistry, allowing patients to feel carefree and happy and pain-free. If used correctly by qualified dentists, nitrous oxide is a safe and valuable sedative.

Nitrous oxide is typically used when patients experience mild to moderate anxiety or fear when seeing the dentist for treatment. The gentle sedative properties of this gas helps patients who are not in extreme panic, but simply need calming.

One appealing thing about nitrous oxide is that it is administered by inhaling it through a mask placed over the nose. There are no needles required, which is a great benefit to many nervous patients. Another plus is that patients remain awake and aware of the environment during treatment, but are no longer anxious or upset about what is happening.

Some additional benefits of nitrous oxide include:

  • The sedation level may be adjusted at any time during treatment.
  • Since the healthcare professionals have control over the nitrous oxide at all times, it is a very safe choices and nearly impossible to overdose.
  • It works quickly, with the calming effects taking place in under three minutes of being administered.
  • Lengthy or complicated dental procedures can be performed while the patient is content and often unaware of the time spend in the dental chair. This also increases the dentist’s ability to perform multiple procedures in one visit.
  • Nitrous oxide is safe for patients with medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and epilepsy.

Sedation dentist in Weymouth


sedation-dentist-5.jpg
01/Jul/2025

If you avoid getting dental care because of the anxiety and fear of going to the dentist, you are not alone. It is estimated that forty million Americans don’t seek regular dental care because they are uncomfortable or afraid of going. Sedation dentistry has been developed to manage the pain and anxiety of dental visits, while still providing patients with the ability to respond to verbal commands and physical stimulation.

Here are some guidelines to help you determine if sedation dentistry might help you:
• You are fearful about dental instruments and procedures.
• Local anesthetics have not had a numbing effect on you in the past.
• Your gag reflex is overly sensitive.
• You have a fear of shots or needles.
• The noises, tastes, and odors associated with dentistry bother you a great deal.
• You have extremely sensitive teeth.
• Your dental problems are complicated, or you need to have several procedures in a single visit.
• You have experienced traumatic dental experiences in the past.
• Health issues such as neck or back pain or TMJ make it uncomfortable for you to sit in the dentist’s chair or open your mouth for extended periods.

Putting off dental care is not recommended because it can result in more serious problems or invasive procedures later. If some of the characteristics above describe you, consult your dentist about ways to help you relax and become more comfortable with checkups. Sedation dentistry techniques like IV, oral, or inhaled sedation may be just what you need to allow you to confidently seek dental care on a regular basis.

If you need a dentist in Weymouth contact us today


sedation-dentistry.jpg
01/Jul/2025

If you are about to undergo a dental therapy that necessitates the use of sedation dentistry, especially IV sedation, there are definitely some important questions you should ask your dentist prior to the procedure. Remembering to ask these questions can be difficult, especially if you are feeling anxious or ill at ease with regard to the treatment.

Use this guide to give you some of the most important questions you might not have thought of or remembered to ask:

  • What type of sedation will I be receiving?
  • What risk factors – even rare ones – are associated with this type of sedation?
  • How long will the treatment take, and during how much of that time will I be sedated?
  • How will the sedation be administered?
  • Who will give me the sedation and monitor it during my treatment?
  • What safety measures do you have in place in case of any medical emergency?
  • What would happen in the case of a cardiac emergency or a seizure?
  • Who is trained in CPR and other life-saving skills?
  • What kind of preparations do I need to make prior to my treatment?
  • Should someone accompany me to be present during the treatment?
  • How soon following treatment will I feel awake and alert?
  • May I drive myself home afterward?
  • What kind of pain can I expect after my treatment?
  • How will I manage my discomfort?
  • What kind of aftercare does my particular treatment require?
  • What signs should I look for that would lead me to contact you for a follow-up?

Talk to Weymouth sedation dentist Dr. Moghaddam to get the answers to questions like these and any others you may have prior to receiving sedation dentistry.


dentist-office2.jpg
01/Jul/2025

Some of the main reasons many people don’t like to visit the dentist is due to the pain involved with some procedures, or simply the fear of the experience. That’s why dentistry has come up with a way to provide people with dental care, but relieving those common reasons for avoiding it. Sedation dentistry allows patients to have dental work without feeling pain or experiencing anxiety.

Process
Sedation dentistry uses sedative drugs in a safe way for patients to be calmed during dental procedures. You are not fully put to sleep, but the effects of the sedative can make you feel sleepy and it’s likely you won’t remember much about your dental work. It is formally regulated, and side effects are uncommon. Your dentist adjusts the amount of medication used to meet the needs of each patient. There are even choices about the sedation technique used. In the past, intravenous sedation delivered by injection was the most common. Today, alternatives like inhaling nitrous oxide and other approaches that don’t require needles are possible. Your dentist can discuss your options and help you decide which is best for you.

Pain management
Many patients are interested in sedation dentistry so that the pain felt during dental procedures is reduced. This is more than just numbing the area to be worked on; you can actually be put to sleep so you do not feel anything at all. Sedation dentistry is often recommended for sensitive procedures that have greater pain associated with them.

Relaxation
Another popular reason for sedation techniques is to relax the patient. This calms you during the procedure so that the dental work can be performed without increased risk of injury or avoidance. A common level of sedation for this purpose is called the twilight stage, which allows you to respond to the dentist but your awareness of the procedure itself is limited. This allows many patients to get through dental procedures much more comfortably as opposed to when fully awake and alert.

If you live in the Weymouth area contact us today

 


sedation-dentist-2.jpg
01/Jul/2025

Sometimes it is necessary to sedate patients during dental procedures to allow them to be more comfortable and to decrease their anxiety. The two methods that dentists typically use are general anesthesia and IV sedation. Let’s learn the differences between these two types of sedation, and more specifics about most dentists’ preferred method of IV sedation.

IV stands for intravenous, and means the medicine is administered through an injection into the veins. It causes you to become very sleepy and unable to feel pain, but you are aware of what’s happening around you and are even able to follow instructions. On the other hand, general anesthesia requires inhaling sedation gas through a mask. This causes total unconsciousness, so that you are unaware of anything going on around you and experience no pain.

Many dentists prefer IV sedation because you can follow commands if needed, and the medication levels can be adjusted easily depending on your oxygen levels, blood pressure, and pulse. IV sedation does impair you enough that you should arrange help with transportation home after the procedure because you will be groggy, and you may experience some nausea. Other than those possible side effects, there are really no other issues to worry about with this type of sedation. IV sedation is considered to be a safe, fast, and painless type of anesthesia when it is necessary during dental treatment.

Weymouth sedation dentistry


sedation-dentist-6.jpg
01/Jul/2025

Sedation dentistry is designed mainly to focus on patients experiencing fear and anxiety related to dental treatment; however, it is also an excellent choice for other patient types. Following are the main groups who experience relief and comfort from sedation dentistry:

  • Patients experiencing anxiety and fear or a dental phobia
  • Patients possessing an acute gag reflex
  • Patients who have special needs
  • Patients with physical issues that affect movement
  • Anxious or fearful pediatric patients

Dental professionals want a patient to be as stress-free as possible immediately prior to and during a dental visit. Relieving anxiety and fear can turn an unpleasant, stressful experience into a comfortable visit, resulting in a desire to continue dental health and hygiene by returning for regular examinations and procedures.

An acute gag reflex can leave a patient concerned about vomiting during a dental procedure; in fact, many procedures such as taking impressions or working on the back teeth may be impossible. Sedation dentistry helps patients greatly reduce this gag reflex issue, as it is often exacerbated by anxiety and fear.

Patients who have special needs related to autism, Down Syndrome, or a mental or emotional problem may have real difficulty during dental visits. Other patients may deal with physical conditions such as cerebral palsy, Parkinson’s disease, or other disorders of the central nervous system. Patients in this group may have difficulty following instructions or remaining still. Sedation dentistry solves issues of involuntary muscle movements, allowing the dentist to safely and quickly complete treatment.

Fearful children can be problematic for dentists. Children who cannot be still, comply with instructions, or stop crying can cause time-consuming safety issues. Sedation dentistry allows a dentist to perform treatments without physical restraints that could cause emotional trauma to the child, leading to adult dental phobias and fears.

Visiting the dentist and caring for your dental health should be comfortable. Contact our dental office to see what can be done to make your visit as stress-free as possible using sedation dentistry in Weymouth.


sedation-dentist.jpg
01/Jul/2025

Fear and anxiety shouldn’t keep you from attaining a gorgeous, healthy smile. Modern advances allow dentists to keep patients relaxed and comfortable. With sedation dentistry, patients who experience nervousness can receive the care they need.

Who should consider sedation dentistry?
While anyone can request sedation options during dental treatment, certain people can experience great benefit from this process, including individuals who:

  • Can’t handle the sounds and smells of a dental office
  • Have difficulty getting numb
  • Need extensive repair work
  • Suffer from a strong gag reflex
  • Went through a dental trauma in the past

What sedation options are available?
Patients who want to relax during dental treatment have several choices:

  • Nitrous oxide, also called laughing gas, creates a feeling of peacefulness during your procedure. Patients breathe the gas through a mask over the nose, so the effects disappear once the nitrous oxide is turned off.
  • Oral sedation often combines nitrous oxide with a dose of anti-anxiety medication. With oral sedation, patients feel very relaxed and calm while in the dental chair. A responsible adult must accompany you to and from the dentist’s office because the sedative can stay in your system for up to 24 hours.
  • IV sedation is the deepest level of relaxation offered by most dentists. Medication is administered intravenously for maximum benefit.

Is sedation dentistry safe?
Absolutely. Throughout the procedure, the dental team will monitor your vitals and make sure you are comfortable. Patients will still be able to respond to any questions, but remember little about the actual procedure.

Will I be unconscious during my appointment?
With sedation dentistry, patients are actually awake but completely relaxed. And unlike general anesthesia, patients breathe without the use of tubes under dental sedation.

Sedation dentist in Weymouth


Dental Website Design by MyPracticeOnline.com