I have a confession to make…during my last dental appointment, a catastrophe of epic proportions struck! There I was sitting there with my mouth open wide for my dentist to begin drilling on my tooth. I was feeling fairly proud of myself for holding it together and not descending into a full-blown panic attack. Then, out of nowhere, for no inexplicable reason, my mouth suddenly developed a mind of its own and to my horror, I bit the dentist! Yep, you read that right, I bit the man!

Needless to say, I was absolutely mortified! I just knew that I was going to get a “Beware! Patient Bites!” warning put on my permanent dental record. I must have turned 40 shades of red. Luckily my dentist has a great sense of humor and laughed it off, but still. What kind of person bites their dentist? I’ll tell you who! A person with an extreme case of dental anxiety I guess. I feel kind of bad because my dentist is actually a pretty great guy and he keeps my smile looking like a zillion bucks.

What’s a girl to do? She can’t let her teeth rot out of her head, and she sure can’t go around biting unsuspecting dentists. Well, in a dental office Orlando FL there seems to be a solution. Two little words that could change everything. Dental sedation. In other words, dental appointment nirvana. A “pleasant trip” to the dentist no longer has to be an oxymoron.

Imagine if you will a perfect world, where a person can go to the dentist without fear or without even being aware of what was going on. Dental work that formally induced full-fledged panic attack or sudden onset, rouge biting incidents can be accomplished without incident. Procedures that once might have required multiple visits and hours of drilling, pain and tears can now be done all in one visit.

Depending on your needs, there are several different sedation options available. You can choose laughing gas for twilight type sedation or opt for intravenous delivery that ranges from moderate to deep sedation. Being sedated for dental procedures is also relatively low-risk and when administered by an experienced dentist, it is usually quite safe. There are certain conditions, such obesity and sleep apnea, that increase the risks associated with sedation. Make sure to discusses your medical history and any pre-existing high-risk conditions with your dentist prior to the procedure.

Utilizing sedation during your dental visits can greatly improve your overall experience. Not only that, but over time, using sedation can actually alleviate the underlying anxiety you have about going to the dentist all together. After a few visits with sedation, many people find that they no longer have the need for it.

Take it from a bonafide dento-phobiac, dental sedation is the way to go for those whose dental anxiety causes them to avoid the dental chair. Now, going to the dentist can be stress free, so go ahead, open up and say ahhhhh!