Sedation Dentistry – Eatontown, NJ
Your Dental Treatments Made Easy and Relaxing
You should be able to enjoy yourself when you visit NU Dental Eatontown, not dread every single appointment. If you find it difficult to get comfortable in the dental chair as a result of anxiety or feeling tense when just thinking about scheduling an appointment, Dr. Gizachew and his team are here to help. Don’t ignore your appointments when you can receive incredibly effective sedation dentistry during your treatments! After you get started, you can expect to feel a warm and calming sensation, making it easy to complete care from start-to-finish. Call our dental office and we’ll help you find the most appropriate option for sedation dentistry in Eatontown, NJ.
Why Choose NU Dental Eatontown for Sedation Dentistry?
- Dental Team Trained in Personalized Treatments
- Kind, Caring, and Comfortable Dental Office
- Dentist Dedicated to Helping You Feel at Ease
Oral Conscious Dental Sedation
Feeling anxious ahead of your dental appointment but fear that nitrous oxide won’t be enough to keep you from cancelling? Don’t give up on your checkup just yet. There’s a reason Dr. G provides more than one strength of sedation dentistry in his office. If you believe you have moderate levels of anxiety or fear or you simply want to learn more about oral conscious sedation, read on or give our office a call to see if it’s right for you!
What is Oral Conscious Sedation?
Oral conscious sedation is a type of sedation dentistry designed to ease anxiety or nervousness while completing dental appointments. Not only will you not need to wear a nasal mask to receive oral conscious sedation, but you can avoid injections as well. All you need to do is take a pill roughly 15 to 30 minutes before your appointment to feel its effects. Typically, you’ll receive a prescription for Valium, Ativan, or Halcion. No matter what pill you’re prescribed, you’ll need to visit a pharmacy beforehand to pick it up.
How Does Oral Conscious Sedation Work?
After taking your medication, you’ll start to notice the effects by the time you’re sitting in the dental chair. For your own safety, you’ll need to have a friend or family member drive you to and from the office as the effects can linger for several hours.
During your treatment, you should feel deeply calm and relaxed; in fact, many patients don’t remember much (if any) of their appointment once the medication takes effect. This can be quite beneficial for those who would prefer to forget about the stimuli associated with dental appointments. You will still be conscious over the course of your visit, allowing you to inform us of your comfort levels at any time.
Are You a Good Candidate for Oral Conscious Sedation?
Much like nitrous oxide, oral conscious sedation can help reduce problems that make dental checkups difficult. For example, if you have issues with anxiety or fear, a sensitive gag reflex, or low pain tolerance, oral conscious sedation may be for you. Oral conscious sedation may also be ideal for those who:
- Regularly cancel or reschedule appointments at the last minute due to feeling anxious or fearful of hearing bad news about their oral health
- Plan to receive multiple treatments in a single visit
- Plan to receive a treatment that will take a long time (i.e. multiple dental implants)
- Have difficulty keeping their mouth open for an extended period of time
- Have had bad experiences with dentistry in the past
- Have difficulty getting numb from local anesthesia
Nitrous Oxide Dental Sedation
Those with only mild anxiety will find nitrous oxide to be a great solution. To administer the sedative, we ask you to wear a small nasal mask that is worn throughout your treatment, whether it’s for a basic cleaning, restorative dentistry, or another service. As you inhale the sedative, which consists of both nitrous and oxygen, you’ll begin to feel very warm, calm, and relaxed. Since we can easily adjust how much sedative you receive, we can always send more your way if you need it to complete treatment. Keep in mind that this sedative is not as strong as oral conscious sedation, which means once we remove the nasal mask, you should be able to drive yourself home, head back to work, or continue your other day-to-day activities.
Who Is a Good Candidate for Nitrous Oxide Sedation?
As the lightest form of dental sedation, nitrous oxide sedation can be a good choice for practically any patient. If you are not pregnant or suffering from respiratory illness, this type of sedation dentistry may be right for patients who:
- Need a little help to feel relaxed or comfortable in the examination chair
- Aren’t good candidates for other types of dental sedation (such as patients who are older, younger, or have special needs)
- Historically have a difficult time getting numb from local anesthetics
- Suffer from an overactive gag reflex or very sensitive teeth
- Have TMJ disfunction or neck, back, shoulder, or other physical discomfort that make sitting in the examination chair for long periods of time uncomfortable.
How Does Nitrous Oxide Dental Sedation Work?
Once you’ve been seated, we’ll place a small mask over your nose to administer the nitrous oxide sedation. Within a few moments of inhaling the colorless, odorless gas, you’ll begin to feel light, happy, and relaxed. As we work on your smile, you won’t notice the sights, sounds, or sensations that would normally cause you distress. We’ll monitor you carefully throughout your treatment and adjust your level of sedation to keep you safe and comfortable. You may feel some pressure in your mouth from time to time, but you are unlikely to register any feelings of pain, and you may not remember much of your time in the chair afterwards. Once your treatment is done, we’ll remove the mask from your nose. Within just a few minutes, you’ll return to your normal level of consciousness.
Aftercare for Nitrous Oxide Dental Sedation
One of the most popular benefits of nitrous oxide sedation is how little aftercare is needed. Not only will you feel alert a few minutes after the mask is removed, but you’ll be well enough to drive yourself home and continue your day without interruption! A very small percentage of patients feel very minor nausea after nitrous oxide sedation, but this symptom is fleeting and easy to manage. The vast majority of patients experience no immediate or long-term side effects after using nitrous oxide dental sedation!
Sedation Dentistry FAQs
If you’re interested in sedation dentistry, reading through the different types we offer is a great place to start. With that being said, it’s completely normal to have some lingering questions on your mind. The best way to find out the answers is by scheduling an appointment with our team. However, if you’re interested in doing more research online first, that’s okay too! For this reason, we’ve responded to some of the most frequently asked questions we hear from patients below.
Am I a good candidate for sedation dentistry?
If you struggle with dental-related anxiety, have a sensitive gag reflex, need extensive dental work, or experience head, neck, or jaw pain in the treatment chair, then sedation dentistry in Eatontown may be right for you. The only way to know for sure if you are a candidate, however, is if you schedule an appointment with Dr. G. During this visit, he can review your medical history, learn about your concerns, and determine if sedation dentistry is suitable. If you are pregnant, are taking certain medications, or are allergic to the medication, then our team will work with you to form a more ideal solution to keep you calm and comfortable during your treatment.
Does dental sedation make you tell secrets?
Many patients have heard that dental sedation will act as a “truth serum,” causing you to reveal your deepest, darkest secrets. Don’t worry – this is a very unlikely reaction. Plus, even if you do share something that you otherwise wouldn’t have, you can rest assured it will be kept within the dental treatment room.
Will I feel any pain with dental sedation?
One of the many pros of dental sedation is that it actually suppresses your body’s ability to register pain! As a result, it’s very unlikely that you will experience any pain, especially if your dentist is using a local anesthetic in tandem with nitrous oxide or oral conscious sedation. Plus, if you’ve had trouble with the numbing agents your dentist uses in the past, sedation dentistry can help.
Is sedation dentistry worth it?
Sedation dentistry is considered by dental insurance providers to be a “luxury.” For this reason, it’s typically an out-of-pocket expense. The good news is that it’s well worth the cost, especially if it allows you to get all the dental work you need in one sitting or you struggle with moderate to severe dental-related anxiety. Plus, we offer several financial options to our patients, including an in-house membership plan and flexible financing, making sedation dentistry more affordable than ever.
What does it feel like to be sedated at the dentist?
The sensation you’ll feel depends entirely on the type of sedation dentistry you choose. For example, while patients who opt for nitrous oxide often report feeling relaxed, light, and euphoric, patients who choose oral conscious sedation feel a deep sense of relaxation that may cause them to doze off. Both types will effectively keep your nerves at bay, allowing you to experience the stress-free dentistry you deserve.