While regular dental appointments are absolutely crucial for preventing nasty oral infections, many people skip their dentist’s visits due to fear or anxiety. Thankfully, sedation dentistry can be a fantastic way to make oral health treatments less stressful. Here’s a quick look at what sedation dentistry is, who it can help, and how much it can cost.
What Is Sedation Dentistry?
Sedation dentistry involves administering medicine that helps a patient relax during their dental appointment while making them less sensitive to discomfort. Many dentists offer sedation treatments like:
- Nitrous oxide: This treatment has been used to help dental patients feel calm and comfortable for almost two hundred years because it can be safely administered to virtually anyone and is not associated with any long-term side effects.
- IV sedation: This involves the dentist administering a sedative to a patient’s vein, resulting in a deeper state of relaxation than nitrous oxide can provide. However, the patient will need to arrange for a trusted individual to drive them to and from the dentist’s office and keep an eye on them for several hours while the effects wear off.
- General anesthesia: This treatment is used to put the patient to sleep and render them insensate to pain, and it is typically used for oral surgery.
How Is Dental Sedation Priced?
Most insurance policies do not pay for dental sedation treatments, so you will probably have to pay out-of-pocket. However, your dentist’s staff will be happy to help you navigate your policy in case it offers some coverage. Nitrous oxide, the most common type of dental sedation, usually costs several hundred dollars, but IV sedation and general anesthesia can cost considerably more than that. Many dentists charge by the hour for sedation, so the cost of your treatment may increase if it takes a longer time.
Who Can Dental Sedation Help?
Dental sedation can be great for those who deal with issues like:
- Anxiety or fear related to dental visits.
- Difficulty achieving the desired results of local anesthetics.
- Especially strong gag reflexes that make it difficult for dentists to work in their mouths.
- Health conditions that make it difficult for them to sit still for long periods of time.
Don’t let fear of your dentist’s office set you up for painful and destructive oral infections that can be quite costly to treat. Consulting with your oral health professional can help you find the best form of dental sedation for you.
About the Practice
Morgan Hill Dental Care offers the best oral health services in town. Led by a team of seven skilled and experienced dentists, the staff treats each patient with compassion, courtesy, and exemplary customer service. Areas of expertise include general, restorative, cosmetic, and emergency dentistry as well as oral surgery and sedation services. To learn more about the benefits of sedation dentistry, contact the office on the web or dial (408) 778-4838.