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Den's Dental Blog

Hello! My name is Den. This blog is going to cover a range of dental topics. I am not a dentist or a dental nurse but I have recently undergone a lot of dental treatment. This treatment has given me a great insight into the world of dentistry and I would like to share everything I have learnt with you here. Last year, I developed terrible pain in my mouth. I was diagnosed with severe tooth decay. The dentist removed the problem teeth and then inserted false ones in their place. He also whitened my teeth to improve my smile. I hope you find my blog useful.

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How Sedation Dentistry Can Dramatically Improve Your Experience

by Myrtle Banks

The fear of visiting a dentist is quite real, and you may be surprised to learn how prevalent it is across the board. A good number of both children and adults have a phobia of the dentist's chair, and this only work towards putting their oral health at risk of progressive deterioration since being scared of routine checkups, restorative treatments and so on will allow oral health conditions to fester and eventually require extreme forms of therapy.

Fortunately, the advent of sedation dentistry has brought about much-needed relief for terrified patients. As implied by the name, sedation dentistry utilises tranquilising medication so that the patient does not feel any pain and, depending on the drug, may instead have a generalised sensation of euphoria. While easing the anxiety of seeing a dentist is one of the major reasons to seek sedation dentistry, here are further ways that it will drastically improve your experience.

Development of anterograde amnesia

While amnesia is typically associated with traumatic events such as being involved in an accident, temporary amnesia that helps you to get through your dental appointments can prove to be beneficial to you for the long term. However, it should be noted that the specific type of amnesia that one can experience due to sedation dentistry is the anterograde variety, which prevents the patient from forming a new memory of the experience.

This type of amnesia is similar to the after-effects of drinking too much and blacking out, leading you to forget what happened. When this type of amnesia is triggered when dental work is being performed, it inhibits the formation of a new unpleasant memory regarding the experience, gradually helping to diminish your fear of the dentist.

Limiting your gag reflex

The human gag reflex is important since it ensures that you are capable of expelling anything obtrusive that goes down your throat, such as poisonous food, toxic chemicals, foreign objects and much more. However, your gag reflex cannot choose what is supposed to be in your throat and what is not. That is why you will gag when you engage in innocuous activities such as brushing your teeth. During a dental visit, this reflex can be a massive hindrance towards the progression of your treatment.

If the dentist cannot access your oral cavities without you constantly gagging, the experience is uncomfortable for you and difficult for the medical professional, not to mention that when your body spasms, it can lead to unnecessary injury, especially if the dentist is wielding equipment in your mouth. Sedation dentistry will limit your gag reflex drastically, making this form of treatment ideal whether or not you have a phobia for the dentist.

Contact a local dentist to learn more.

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