How Common Is The Fear Of The Dentist?
- By Mary Marks
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- 25 Apr, 2019
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Fear of the dentist is so common that it seems to be a part
of the collective subconscious. It seems perpetual, mythologized, like the fear
of snakes, for example. Many patients prefer the services of
a sedation dentistry Denver area office
to help keep them calm during their dental treatments.
It comes from a long time, when dental “treatments” consisted in teeth extractions performed by blacksmiths, without anesthesia and in completely unhygienic environments. The fear of the dentist persisted even more recently, when dental techniques and anesthesia were not that efficient yet. For most of us who have at least 40 years of life, dental treatments are still associated with the stinging odor in dental cabinets and with the piercing sound of the turbine…
Our body`s memory is more tenacious than the mental memory; odors, accompanied by pain or unpleasant sensation, deeply graze. One after the other, each trauma leaves a chemical footprint in our brain, generated by the discharge of substances that mark certain neural paths, whose traces cannot be erased so easily.
Fortunately, today there are many solutions that alleviate and even cure the fear of the dentist, from individual therapies with a psychotherapist (long-term or short-term, depending on the severity of the fear symptoms) to other approaches and even alternatives therapies such as hypnosis or cranio-sacral therapy that can lead to desensitization and the disappearance of the fear of the dentist. Administering laughing gas (NO2) before being subject to a dental procedure, intravenous sedation or general anesthesia (in the case of extreme phobia) are also used.
Although oral sedation dentistry Highlands Ranch is one of the optionsavailable for managing anxiety and discomfort during oral surgery, you certainly do not need to use it all the time. As a matter of fact, the exact type of sedation or anesthesia that you receive during oral procedures may depend on various factors, such as the complexity of the procedure, your medical problems, as well as your doctor’s preferences.
There can be several different levels of sedation that can be used in oral surgery. Local anesthesia is one of them. This involves injecting anesthetic medication into the specific area where the surgery will take place. It numbs the area and is often used for less invasive procedures.
Oral sedation involves taking medication in the form of a pill to induce a state of relaxation and drowsiness. The patient is still conscious, but he/she may not be fully aware of the procedure. At any rate, sedation helps him/her get rid of anxiety.
In the case of intravenous sedation, medication is administered through a vein, which induces a deeper state of sedation than oral sedation. Patients may still be conscious, but they are less aware of their surroundings and may not remember the procedure.
