Anxiety and Seeing Your Periodontist
Our periodontal services at VIP Vero Implants & Periodontics range from routine tooth extraction to complete tooth replacement with modern implant surgery. Our skilled and caring staff concentrate on relieving anxiety while providing the best periodontal treatment with the goal of saving our patients’ natural teeth.
There are instances, however, where a patient’s teeth may have a hopeless prognosis. In those cases, we employ the latest advances in dental implants to restore the patient’s smile and self-confidence.
The journey from prognosis to dental implants at Vero Beach can often involve building up the patient’s bone structure through guided bone regeneration, removal of the damaged teeth, and implanting the titanium posts securely in the patient’s jaw.
Understanding and Overcoming Anxiety of Going to the Dentist
Your implant dentist in Vero Beach, FL will explain every step in the implant procedure. We know that patients often have fear and anxiety when visiting a periodontist. We realize that fear of dentists, or odontophobia, is common among patients of every age. That fear can focus on the following:
- Needle phobias and fear of the injection dentists use to numb the mouth
- Fear of numbness or gagging after a previous experience of difficulty with breathing or gagging
- The sounds and smells in a dental clinic—particularly the sound of drilling
- Fear of the dentist, who is often mistakenly cast as harsh or judgmental
- Fear of pain and a hypersensitivity to pain in the mouth
Coping With the Fear And Anxiety
If the odontophobia is so severe that the patient can’t go near a dentist, the best strategy is to consult a qualified mental health professional. Through Cognitive behavioral therapy, medications and hypnosis, the patient can be eased into a program of gradual consultations with the dentist to get the fear under control.
Keeping the Patient Comfortable With Sedation
Once the fear is manageable, our professionals at Vero Beach Dental can help patients to overcome their fears through sedation dentistry. At Vero Beach Dental, we use the following types of sedation to help patients with mild to moderate odontophobia:
IV Sedation for Implant Surgery
With intravenous sedation, the patient stays conscious and relaxed during the treatment. The patient does not lose consciousness, but feels relaxed and is less aware of what the dentist is doing. The dentist administers, controls, and monitors the sedation through a patient’s vein.
The IV sedation works quickly and the patient feels no pain during the procedure. This sedation also creates amnesia, and remembers nothing of the prior to being coaxed back to awareness by the dentist.
Oral Sedation for Mild to Moderate Odontophobia
Oral sedation is the most convenient and common sedation and widely accepted by patients. The dentist will prescribe the sedation so the patient can have a restful night before the day of the appointment. Its goal is to produce a mildly sedated, more cooperative, and relaxed patient, who must be accompanied by a responsible adult on the trip to and from the dentist.
Sedation Through Nitrous Oxide Gas
Popularly known as “laughing gas,” nitrous oxide is a safe and effective dental sedative used to relax a patient and place them in a twilight state of deep relaxation. While breathing in the nitrous oxide, patients feel less anxious, as well as light headed. The effects of nitrous oxide typically wear off quickly when the mask is removed, and there are no lingering aftereffects.
Our Patients’ Experience With Pain Avoidance
See our Testimonials webpage for patients’ feedback on their experiences at Vero VIP Dental. Below are three examples of our patients’ experience with pain avoidance:
K. Kite: “…The pain I felt was nominal for all the work I had done. Not only did his staff call me, but Dr. Brown himself called on my recovery.”
Rev. Moses from Uganda: “…Not only did you fix our teeth but gave us great pain relief.”
Carolyn R.: “…If you don’t like needles and laughing gas you may be able to get his IV intervention for real honest to goodness pain free surgery!”
Let Us Help You Overcome Your Anxiety of Going to the Dentist
Want to learn how dental implant treatments in Vero Beach or Melbourne, Florida, can be the optimum solution to your current poor dental health? Contact us and see how our pain-free solutions can give you back your smile.