Are You Afraid Of Dental Procedures?

Help for anxious dental patients from Burton and Ashby.

Dental anxiety is a common experience. Whilst there is some debate as to why this applies to dental visits specifically, it may be due to procedures taking place in close proximity to the main senses of the body, and being close to the brain where ‘pain’ messages are sent.

Even patients who diligently attend a dental practice for check ups have been known to cancel or postpone appointments for actual treatment, due to dental anxiety.  This can result in more extensive damage and therefore more invasive treatment being needed eventually.

Localised pain

Whilst we recognise that fairly few people actually enjoy having a dental procedure, most people though, with the aid of a local anaesthetic, manage to sail through procedures such as fillings and extractions with very few problems. But the reality is that, with a local anaesthetic, even invasive procedures such as dental implant placement should cause very little actual pain. The anaesthetic works by blocking pain messages from the nerve to the brain. Some slight discomfort may be felt from pressure being applied to a tooth during the procedure but for most people though, it is the fear of the pain that causes anxiety rather than any actual physical pain.

Anxiety help

Whilst some patients have found that various methods of relaxation, such as yoga or deep breathing, have helped them relax a little when visiting the dentist; for some, the levels of anxiety are too high for them to have anything more than a minimal effect. To ensure that people who are really nervous are able to have a healthy mouth with great looking teeth, we also offer sedation dentistry for Ashby and Burton patients. This enables them to undergo any dental procedure in a completely relaxed state.

The sedative is given via a needle into the back of the hand and slowly enters the bloodstream leaving you completely relaxed, but, importantly, fully conscious. This enables both the patient to have a much more pleasant experience, and also the dentist to perform what may be a complicated procedure, without having the patient ‘fight’ against it.

A number of patients who have used IV sedation at Alexandra Dental Care have also told us that even fairly lengthy procedures seem to be over in just a few minutes. This is obviously a bonus for those people who are nervous of the dentist.

Side effects

There should be no long term side effects of using IV sedation, and we will always check your medical history to minimise any risk. You will, however, feel quite drowsy for several hours afterwards and should, under no circumstances, drive or use dangerous machinery. We also insist that you bring somebody with you who can take you home afterwards so that you arrive home safely. Where possible, we recommend that you take the rest of the day off from work to allow the sedative to leave your system.

If you are a nervous dental patient from the Burton and Ashby area, and would like to know more about our sedation dentistry, please call  Alexandra Dental Care on 01283 216347.

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