If you suffer from dental anxiety, you might be considering a sedation dentist to help relieve your anxiety so you can get either required dental work or a cosmetic dentistry procedure that you desire. However, you might be confused about whether sedation dentistry or sleep dentistry is right for you. The good news is that you don’t have to be confused any longer, they’re kind of the same thing.
Sedation dentistry is the use of medications to help a dental patient overcome dental anxiety. It’s called sedation dentistry because it induces a state of relaxation, a sedated state. Sometimes people refer to sedation dentistry as sleep dentistry, but this is not accurate. You’re never actually asleep, even if you are deeply sedated using intravenous (IV) sedation. You still retain awareness and can respond to your dentist’s instructions.
On the other hand, sleep dentistry is an appropriate description for the use of general anesthesia to help you get appropriate dental treatments. General anesthesia actually does make you unconscious. It has significant risks, so it is only used in rare circumstances when it’s the best option for relaxation and pain relief.
If you are anxious about dental treatment and want to learn more about the safe, gentle option of sedation dentistry, please contact Dentonics, Inc in Pittsburgh today for an appointment with a sedation dentist.
