From an office that feels like home to a staff that feels like family, Board-certified gum disease specialist, and nutritionist, Dr. Sanda, and her team have created an environment that improves your dental experience while quelling the fear and other concerns that stand between you and the dentist! Since “your mouth is the gateway to your health,” dental visits are necessary for a healthy body and overall well-being.
Sedation dental services in Beverly Hills CA perfectly complement Dr. Sanda’s gentle methods, techniques, and technologies. Also, the answer to the question of “What is dental sedation?” can differ dramatically at other offices because Dr. Sanda has demonstrated the training and qualifications to offer sedative options that go beyond what other dentists offer. There is an option to make your treatment as comfortable and pleasant as possible, because it is tailored to your specific needs, procedures, and level of dental fear.
Calming common fears
Depending on where you look, anywhere from 9 to 36 percent of the population suffers from some form of dental anxiety. While anxiety is often lumped together with dental phobia, which could account for conflicting statistics, phobic patients generally have a heightened level of fear and much poorer oral health than their anxious counterparts. Dental fear is frequently rooted in negative experiences as children. Dr. Sanda and her team have minimized or eliminated the four “S” words that trigger anxiety or panic: Sight of needles
- Sound of the drill
- The sensation of dental instruments
- The smell of dental products
Sedation dentistry is one of the ways that Dr. Sanda helps patients who fear needles, drilling, and the sensations and scents of the dental office.
Worry-free sedation that works for you
Sedative options generally bring about a low awareness of the environment and decrease your responsiveness to outside stimuli. You may be familiar with “laughing gas.” Commonly used to relax patients during dental treatment, nitrous oxide is inhaled through a mask. Oxygen neutralizes the effects of this gas, so it’s considered a minimal option for patients with mild fear or anxiety. Patients can even drive home after the procedure.
Dr. Sanda is qualified to offer oral conscious sedation, which allows you to take a relaxing medication by mouth at home as directed by the dentist prior to treatment or as soon as you get to the office. The type of pill taken to relax you in this way is determined, in part, by your medical history. Today’s options are fast-acting and quickly leave your body, so they are a viable and safe alternative even for younger patients. Many patients who are afraid of the sight and sensation of needles and numbing shots appreciate the non-invasive nature of oral conscious sedation. It’s common for patients to fall asleep, and to have some degree of amnesia about treatment afterward, which again is favored by those individuals who associate procedures with negative experiences from childhood.
Dr. Sanda is also licensed to administer a deeper level of sedation than what pills can provide: IV sedation. A sedative medication is administered intravenously and can be adjusted throughout treatment to increase or decrease relaxing effects. IV sedation generally bridges the gap between mild calming methods like nitrous oxide and oral conscious sedation, and general anesthesia that puts patients completely under.
Similar to oral conscious sedation, a calming medication is customized to your needs. You receive the sedative gently and safely through a vein. IV sedation induces a state between consciousness and unconsciousness. Those triggers that inspire anxiety or fear float away.
As much as sedation dentistry aids individuals with dental fear and anxiety, it’s also applicable to an even wider range of patients. Your dentist may recommend one of these sedative options if you:
- Have a very low tolerance for pain.
- Fidget a lot during treatment.
- Experience extreme tooth-related sensitivity.
- Have strong gag reflexes.
- Require lengthy treatment.
- Are combining several procedures in a single appointment.
Whether you’re undergoing a full-mouth makeover or need to make over your perception of modern, gentle dentistry, Dr. Sanda and her team are here for you! Call (310) 692-7855 to discuss your options.