I hate the dentist’s chair!

We, as dentists, are aware of how much our patients are afraid of coming to us for dental treatment. Some of the factors that increase the fear of the dentist are fear of the needle, the discomfort caused by the sounds coming from the dental instruments during treatment, early negative dental experiences, the negative feedback for dental treatments, or even the fact that the dentist has not been visited before.

Sedation for very afraid patients

We know how much a simple filling or tartar removal can be a big deal in the eyes of our patients. One technique to reduce these fears is sedation.

Sedation, controlled by an anesthesiologist, can provide deep-controlled sleepiness using appropriate drugs. Under sedation, all your reflexes are controlled.

Sedation is preferred in patients with nausea or vomiting problems, who cannot sit in a dentist’s chair, in patients who need various dental treatments at the same time, or in patients who need to undergo any dental treatment with the presence of an anesthesiologist. After this procedure, the patient is discharged on the same day after a few hours of observation.

My stomach feels sick during treatment

Medications used during sedation are also known to minimize nausea reflexes. Therefore, you do not have to worry about nausea reflexes during dental treatments.

What is retrograde amnesia?

During sedation, the patient is injected with intravenous medication for comfort, but the teeth are also locally anesthetized. Due to the short-term effect of drugs, patients do not remember many of the procedures during the treatment, hence retrograde amnesia.

Do I need to be fully asleep?

General anesthesia is also used in cases where sedation is not sufficient. It is used in very small children, where cooperation cannot be achieved by local anesthesia or sedation, and in very young children whose treatment cannot be completed in a single session with sedation. The dentist, anesthesiologist, and the patient decide together which anesthesia technique to perform during the treatments.