Stress-Free Appointments Every Single Time
You don’t need a degree in dentistry to know that many people don’t exactly love going to the dentist. In fact, some are downright terrified. To help our more nervous patients enjoy calm and cool dental visits here in Dallas, Dr. Shwarts is happy to offer sedation dentistry. No matter what kind of treatment someone needs, he can use the techniques below to ensure they feel mentally and physically relaxed from check-in to checkout. Think you could benefit from dental sedation? Give us a call to learn how we could use it at your next visit.
Why Choose Us for Sedation Dentistry?
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Sedation Can Be Specially-Tailored For Each Patient
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Friendly Team That Treats Every Patient Like Family
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We Listen To Anxious Patients & Take Their Concerns Seriously
ORAL CONSCIOUS SEDATION
If you have a particularly bad case of dental phobia, or if you require a more invasive procedure, Dr. Shwarts can prescribe you a pill to take at home on the day of your appointment. By the time you reach our dental office, you should already feel completely relaxed from head to toe. In the chair, you’ll remain awake and be able to respond to basic commands, but many patients end up falling asleep! Due to the strength of OCS, you’ll need a friend or family member to drive you to and from our dental office, and after your appointment, you should feel completely normal by the next morning at the latest.
Oral conscious sedation is an easy, effective, and reliable form of dental sedation. There are no needle or nose masks involved for this option, and you should already begin to feel relaxed before you reach us for your appointment! Based on your medical history and unique needs, we will typically prescribe you a single small pill of Valium, Ativan, or Halcion. You’ll take it either shortly before your appointment or when you arrive at our office, and it usually takes about 15 minutes for the effects to kick in.
The calm feelings of relaxation you’ll experience with oral conscious sedation will linger throughout your entire appointment. This means you’ll need to have a trusted friend or family member drive you to and from your appointment. With oral conscious sedation, you’ll feel groggy, your limbs may feel heavy, and you’ll be completely oblivious to the sights, sounds, and sensations that would typically make you nervous or uncomfortable. While you won’t likely remember anything about your appointment afterwards, you’ll remain conscious enough to respond to basic instructions from our team. Some patients feel so relaxed that they begin to doze off, but they can be easily awakened with little effort.
Oral conscious dental sedation in Dallas offers several benefits that make the ideal choice for some patients. It may be right for you if you:
- Suffer from dental anxiety, fear, or phobia
- Are afraid of needles or masks
- Regularly cancel or reschedule your dental appointments out of fear or anxiety
- Have a very sensitive gag reflex or very sensitive teeth
- Have difficulty sitting still for long periods of time
- Are undergoing a longer treatment or completing several treatments at once
- Suffer from jaw issues like TMJ disorder that make holding the mouth open uncomfortable
- Require a deeper level of relaxation than what nitrous oxide sedation can provide, but aren’t looking for sedation as powerful as IV sedation
Truly, the only way to know for sure if you’re a good candidate for oral conscious sedation is to come visit us for a consultation. We’ll be happy to discuss your concerns with you and review your medical history to discover which option is best for making your next appointment a pleasant one.
NITROUS OXIDE SEDATION DENTISTRY
Nitrous oxide is ideal for patients who just need a little help to “take the edge off” of their dental nerves. This sedation option is sometimes called “laughing gas” because it helps patients feel relaxed, at-ease, and happy. It’s also the lightest form of sedation and well-suited for a wide variety of patients of all ages, which makes it a popular choice. Nitrous oxide sedation is safe, effective, and easy to use for almost anyone who needs a bit of extra help relaxing in the examination chair.
If you are interested in nitrous oxide sedation, we’ll be happy to discuss your candidacy with you. Typically, we’ll recommend it if a patient:
- Feels nervous, scared, or anxious about an upcoming appointment or treatment
- Has a sensitive gag reflex or sensitive teeth that makes dental care uncomfortable
- Experiences neck, back, shoulder, or leg pain while sitting in the examination chair
- Has difficulty keeping their mouth open or sitting still for long periods
Nitrous oxide is an excellent choice for most patients, but not everyone. We’ll need to thoroughly review your current health and medical history to ensure that nitrous oxide will be a safe, effective choice for you. Typically, we will not recommend it for patients who are pregnant, have high blood pressure, have glaucoma, are currently experiencing nasal congestion, and a few other circumstances. These are all factors we will look for and discuss with you.
To administer nitrous oxide sedation, we’ll place a small mask over your nose. Within just a few moments of breathing in the mix of oxygen and nitrous oxide, you’ll begin to feel light, warm, and airy. Nitrous oxide doesn’t “knock you out” and you’ll remain conscious throughout your appointment, however, you’ll be oblivious to the sights, sounds, or sensations that would otherwise cause you emotional or physical discomfort. We’ll be able to adjust your level of sedation at any point during your treatment to ensure that you are as safe and comfortable as possible. You won’t feel any pain while under nitrous oxide sedation and you may not remember anything about your appointment afterwards. At the end of your treatment, the effects of the sedation will wear off just as quickly as they came on once the mask has been removed.
One of the reasons why nitrous oxide sedation is so popular is because the recovery time is so short. With other sedatives, you’ll be groggy for hours after your appointment and will need to make special arrangements to accommodate. However, with nitrous oxide sedation, you’ll return to your normal level of consciousness within just a few minutes. You’ll be able to drive yourself home and carry on your day without any interruption. In rare cases, a patient may feel somewhat nauseous after nitrous oxide sedation, but the vast majority of patients experience no immediate or long-term side effects.
SEDATION DENTISTRY FAQS
Dental anxiety and fear keep countless adult patients from scheduling important procedures and routine preventive visits that keep their smiles healthy and happy. Fortunately, our team offers sedation dentistry in Dallas to help our patients stay on-top of their oral health without compromising their mental and emotional states. Below, our team at Shwarts Family Dentistry in Dallas has answered some of the most common questions that we’ve received from our patients. If you don’t see the information you need, please feel free to call our team.
Sedation dentistry can help patients who experience a wide range of barriers that keep them from having comfortable dental experiences. We typically suggest either oral conscious or nitrous oxide sedation to patients who:
- Have deep-rooted fear of the dentist that causes anxiety or panic attacks.
- Are afraid of needles.
- Are overstimulated by the sights and sounds of the dental office.
- Have strong gag reflexes.
- Have sensitive teeth and gums.
- Have difficulty getting numb from anesthesia.
If you experience any of these, don’t hesitate to reach out to your sedation dentist in Dallas today to learn whether we can help you have a more enjoyable dental visit.
Sedation dentistry is only used to help patients feel more relaxed and at-ease in the office, not to relieve any pain that can occur during your procedure. For that, we’ll administer anesthesia.
This really depends on your unique reaction to the sedation and what type of sedation you receive. Typically, our patients don’t recall much of what happened during their procedure whether they received nitrous oxide or oral conscious sedation. For many patients, this is an added perk of this service, because it gives their anxiety and fear less fuel for future visits.
If you’re receiving nitrous oxide sedation, the effects typically wear off within just a couple of minutes of taking the mask off of your face, allowing you to drive yourself back home and carry on with the rest of the tasks you have to do that day. However, the effects of oral conscious sedation linger long after your visit, which is why you’ll need to have a trusted friend or family member drop you off and pick you up from your visit.
The side-effects that typically accompany both nitrous oxide and oral conscious sedation include:
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Grogginess
- Dry mouth
- Brief amnesia
If you have any questions or concerns after your treatment, don’t hesitate to call our office.