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  • Sedation Dentistry: Comfort For the Asking
    By: PATRICIA WOLOCH

    It’s an old cliché that visiting the dentist is a nerve-wracking thing, a justified cause of apprehension. Over the ages, this has been true, if you remember that dentistry was done by your local barber, who used giant pincers to remove a tooth past saving, or used a string tied to a door handle and slammed the door.

    And if we note that anesthetics were not developed until the 19th century, we can understand how this cliché came into being. Even our grandparents had some justification for being anxious about dental visits, in those years when dentists had relatively crude instruments such as slow-speed drills and large needles.

    Well, we don’t mean to wake up your dental anxiety here. We are going to try and persuade you that there’s no cause for it any more. Not that you can press a button and presto! It’s gone from your psyche. But you can simply ask for a sedative.

    A modern cosmetic dentist has been thoroughly trained in making patients comfortable. If you choose a cosmetic dentist who has graduated from the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies (LVI), you will be gently and courteously treated. Your dental work will be done using the latest and best dental technology, based on lasers and computers. There will be virtually no discomfort, and if you do feel any, mention it to your cosmetic dentist, and he or she will immediately do something to mitigate it.

    A Welcoming Environment to Set the Stage
    From the moment you enter an LVI-trained dentist’s office, you will be welcomed. The team will be friendly and well-trained, and will be getting on well with each other. The top priority in the office will be your comfort and satisfaction. There will be no long, boring wait before you’re ushered to your dental chair, because the dentist will be well-organized and fully on top of his job. The rooms will be attractively decorated with colors, plants, artwork, and comfortable chairs. Magazines, if you want to read any while waiting for a family member, will be up-to-date.

    You will be offered many amenities (varying with each particular dentist), such as:
    •A refreshment bar – teas, coffee, snacks, bottled water
    •A paraffin wax hand treatment – very soothing and pampering
    •Pillows and blankets
    •Headphones for music or movies
    •Pre-numbing of the gums before local anesthetic is given
    •Extra anesthetic if you feel any slight discomfort after the dentist begins work
    •A special device to hold the mouth open at the right height, saving your jaw muscles from that fatigue

    Oral Sedation
    Before you have any dental work done, you will be given an oral medication. It will give you a relaxed and peaceful feeling, banishing your anxiety or apprehension. When combined with well-administered local anesthetic, it will make your whole dental visit calm – and you will need someone to drive you home afterwards.

    Sometimes there is confusion between sedation dentistry and sleep dentistry. They are not at all the same thing. Sleep dentistry uses general anesthesia, and does what it sounds like – puts you entirely to sleep. It is is what you would have in a hospital, for surgery. It is rarely offered by dentists, as it isn’t necessary. Also, it requires a specially-trained nurse-anestheticist or medical anesthesiologist to calibrate your dosage, administer it, monitor your vital signs while the dentist works, and determine when you are awake and alert enough to go home.

    Sedation dentistry gives oral medication to relax you. When you are relaxed, your cosmetic dentist can work more quickly and probably do several procedures in one visit which might have taken several visits otherwise. That could save you some time and money.

    If you are curious about sedation dentistry, contact Dr. Gary Alhadef for more information and to schedule your initial consultation.

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