If you feel nervous about visiting the dentist, you’re not alone. Experts estimate that more than one-third of people have dental anxiety, and more than 10% feel a serious fear about a trip to the dentist’s office. In fact, this anxiety can be enough to keep people from visiting the dentist at all.
Does that sound like you? Dental anxiety doesn’t have to mean the trip to the dentist ruins your day, nor should it keep you from getting the care your mouth needs. At A&N Dental in Tempe, Arizona, we offer conscious sedation to help people just like you relax when they visit our office.
To see how we can help you with dental anxiety, let’s look at the two types of conscious sedation we offer:
Nitrous oxide for any dental care
Historically, dentists have only offered something to sedate (read: relax) the patient when they need an involved dental procedure. But if you get nervous just thinking about a routine teeth cleaning, talk to us.
We know that any trip to our office could be stress-inducing. So we offer nitrous oxide for all of our dental care, if you request it.
Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is a safe, short-term sedative. You inhale it through a mask, breathing normally. In a few minutes, you’ll feel relaxed — and maybe even euphoric (hence the name laughing gas). You’ll still be awake and able to communicate with us, but any anxiety you were feeling should be gone.
As soon as you take off the nitrous oxide mask, the effects of the sedative quickly dissipate. In most cases, you’ll be able to drive yourself home shortly after your appointment.
Intravenous (IV) sedation for wisdom teeth extractions
While nitrous oxide is very helpful for general dental anxiety, our team recommends a higher level of sedation for oral surgeries like the removal of your wisdom teeth. In these cases, we offer IV sedation.
With the IV in place, Dr. Mandana Kheshtchin or Dr. Brent Woodmansee can adjust the level of your sedative as needed to ensure you’re completely comfortable during your procedure. Like nitrous oxide, you’re awake, but you should feel completely relaxed. Many patients liken IV sedation to the feeling of floating.
Ultimately, with these tools to help ease dental anxiety, we hope to encourage more people to routinely visit their dentist. If you feel nervous when you’re in the dentist’s chair, don’t hesitate to ask our team about these options. To get started, call our office in Tempe, Arizona, or book your appointment online today.