At Long Island Endodontics, we understand that for many of our patients, having dental work is scary! Some people come to us with a history of bad experiences with a former dentist or stories of childhood trauma. We want everyone to get the dental treatment they need. That is why we offer sedation dentistry.
Sedation dentistry involves the use of anti-anxiety medications to help nervous or fearful patients tolerate their dental work. The goal of sedation dentistry is to reduce the sights, sounds, and sometimes even the memory of the dental treatment being performed. The level of sedation varies for each patient based on his or her specific desires and the way the body handles medication.
Some people just need to take a little bit of the edge off their dental anxiety. Others need a sedative just to walk in the door of a dental office. Because we are committed to meeting every patient’s individual needs, we offer different types of sedation.
Laughing gas is a very mild type of sedation that is safe for almost every patient. It does not put you to sleep; it just gives you a pleasant sensation of reduced anxiety and less awareness of what is going on. Laughing gas has no lingering effects, so it does not require you to have another person drive you to and from your visit. Laughing gas is NOT safe for pregnant patients.
Intravenous sedation is the best option for our most fearful patients. A board certified anesthesiologist uses injected medications to keep the patient asleep throughout a dental procedure.