Although it’s common to experience some degree of dental anxiety, the mere idea of visiting a dentist causes a level of fear that prevents some patients from seeking professional dental care. Dental anxiety triggers include drills or needles, dental smells and sounds, and negative past experiences. If dental anxiety prevents you from receiving the dental care you need, you’re not alone, and we can help. At Magnolia Ridge Dentistry, your comfort is as important to our team as delivering clinically excellent dentistry.
When you entrust your smile to our compassionate dentist, Dr. Kathleen Schuster, she combines positivity, comfortable amenities, and minimally invasive dental technology to ensure your visit is as pleasant as possible. Sedation dentistry in Melissa, TX, can significantly minimize anxiety and give you the essential professional oral care you deserve. If you’re looking for sedation anesthesia near you at a top-rated practice with a highly skilled and caring dentist, our team looks forward to meeting you!
We offer sedation dentistry services customized to your unique level of dental fear to minimize your anxiety and worry.
Commonly referred to as “laughing gas,” nitrous oxide is a colorless gas mixed with oxygen that’s an ideal option if you have a fear of needles because it is inhaled rather than injected. Nitrous oxide is breathed in through a small mask that fits over your nose and is effective for alleviating mild to moderate dental anxiety.
While under nitrous oxide, you remain conscious and experience a sense of well-being or euphoria. When you get this type of dental anesthesia in Melissa, TX, laughing gas levels leave your body within five minutes of the gas being shut off and breathing in pure oxygen. As such, you can drive yourself home after your procedure.
Oral conscious sedation involves the administration of a sedative in pill form around an hour before your dental procedure and sometimes also the night before. Sedatives called benzodiazepines work by decreasing activity in the parts of your brain that control fear and anxiety, thereby reducing anxiety levels and inducing a state of relaxation.
If you need to undergo a lengthy procedure or wish to combine multiple procedures into one visit, oral conscious sedation dentistry can make sitting in the dental chair more pleasant. Due to lingering drowsiness and impaired motor skills that can last up to 12 hours, you must bring a friend or family member to drive you to and from our office.
Dr. Schuster works with a certified dentist to administer IV sedation to patients needing the highest level of conscious dental anesthesia. If you’re getting IV sedation in Melissa, TX, sedative medications are administered through a vein in your arm or hand. This sedation dentistry type will put you in a sleeplike state, although most patients remain awake during treatment.
IV sedation dentistry is an excellent option for higher levels of dental anxiety and if you’re undergoing lengthier procedures such as dental implants. Nearly everyone who gets IV sedation forgets the entirety of their procedure because the sedative drugs induce short-term amnesia. It’s common to experience lasting side effects impacting your reflexes and motor skills, so a designated adult must drive you home after your visit.
Avoiding the dentist can lead to pain, oral and general health problems, heightened anxiety, and the need for more complex and costly dental procedures. Allowing dental anxiety to take control of your oral health and well-being can increase the risk of extensive tooth decay, gum disease, tooth loss, temporomandibular joint dysfunction symptoms, and cause a hit to your self-esteem and quality of life. Furthermore, advanced gum disease is associated with worsening symptoms in people with diabetes, respiratory disease, and heart disease.
At Magnolia Ridge Dentistry, we think everyone deserves excellent oral health, and nobody should have to suffer from the potentially severe repercussions of dental anxiety. Our caring dentist and team encourage anyone with dental fear to consider sedation dentistry in Melissa, TX. When you become a part of our extended family, we get to know you, listen carefully to your concerns, and strive to make every aspect of your treatment comfortable, painless, and even downright enjoyable!
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