What to Do Before Oral Surgery to Handle Dental Anxiety?
June 17, 2023 fakt_md_aDmEeN
Whether you need dental surgery on one or all of your teeth, feeling nervous about having surgical instruments in your mouth is common. However, you risk severe injury to your teeth, gums, and mouth if dental anxiety encourages you to avoid getting the essential dental care you need from the best dentist in NYC.
You must aim to receive your dental surgery when recommended by the dentist. Therefore you must think about how to address your concerns and find methods to ease your fears and calm your nerves because it can help you feel relaxed before and during the surgical procedure.
The NYC dentist provides professional dental surgery after considering your concerns. In addition, they have a team dedicated to providing expert advice to help you remain calm when offering caring treatment during all stages of your oral surgery.
Learn how to relieve dental anxiety and stress you experience about your upcoming oral surgery.
Discuss your Anxiety with Your Oral Surgeon or Dentist
Discussing with the dentist or NYC oral surgeon helps tremendously overcome your dental anxiety. Regardless of the situation will become less anxious when you are informed and in control of your environment.
Ensure you understand what to expect on the day of the procedure by discussing your concerns with the professional during your initial examination and consultation. Inquire about the process and how you feel during and after the operation. Ensure you can maintain a level of communication requesting to set up a hand signal indicating if you need a break during the procedure.
Dentists receive training to manage patients with dental anxiety and other oral procedures. As a result, they will understand your concerns and work towards making you safe and comfortable. Expressing your fears to the dentist or oral surgeon helps them adapt their approach and treatment to meet your needs.
Practice Relaxation Techniques to Manage Dental Anxiety
Relaxation techniques like exercising and meditation help slow your heart rate to put you at ease. However, during anxious moments you are likely to hold your breath to decrease oxygen levels and increase dental anxiety. Instead, if you focus on deep breathing slowly, you can keep anxiety levels in control and help reduce stress.
Schedule Your Procedure When Stress Levels Are Low
Oral surgical procedures, although essential, are not life-threatening, helping you schedule the timing of the surgery when you feel relaxed. Worrying about problems like navigating traffic, work, or other commitments can increase your stress level. Instead, consider a weekend meeting, early morning, or evening appointment if the timing is less stressful for your everyday activities.
Medication For Dental Anxiety
When you discuss your concerns with the family dentist near me, they can help you reduce anxiety levels by offering sedation dentistry using two approaches.
Oral Conscious Sedation : Oral conscious sedation requires you to take oral medications like tranquilizers, muscle relaxants, or antidepressants an hour before your appointment to arrive at the dentist’s office fully relaxed but awake. The drug helps you remain aware of your surroundings without leaving you with many memories of the surgery after completion. The medication can make you tired and cause you to fall asleep. However, the dentist can awaken you with a gentle nudge if required. Oral conscious sedation requires you to take a pill before your procedure and remain at the dental office until the effects of the drugs wear off after your surgery.
Intravenous Sedation : You receive IV Sedation through a vein in your arm, and a licensed anesthesiologist monitors your condition. As IV sedation delivers a stronger effect than oral conscious sedation, it is typically reserved for severe dental anxiety. Intravenous sedation works faster because the drugs enter the body through a vein, but the dentist or oral surgeon can adjust the dosage during your procedure if required. You will likely not recollect your appointment or the surgery if you receive IV sedation.
Regardless of which method the dentist offers, it helps if you understand you receive local anesthesia in the mouth to manage pain and allow the professional to work uninterrupted during your appointment.
You may become nervous when recommended oral surgery to manage your dental health. However, avoiding the treatment will guarantee you need intensive therapies later because you let your dental anxiety avoid the treatment suggested by the dentist. However, if you discuss your concerns with the professionals, they will recommend appropriate anesthesia options and sedation to ensure you stop fearing minor and insignificant dental procedures to receive essential dental care whenever necessary.
If dental anxiety is a concern that prevents you from receiving essential dental care, Faktor DMD Cosmetic Dentistry & Implants — NYC can help put your dental fears to rest by offering dental sedation and relaxation techniques. If you need minor or significant dental treatments, kindly arrange a meeting with them to discuss your concerns and receive the treatment necessary with no recollection of the procedure.