What Is Sleep Dentistry?
“Dental phobia” is unfortunately very common. In the worst cases, patients who are afraid of the dentist can’t bring themselves to visit the office even for emergency treatment. Because fear of the dentist is so pervasive, Mason dentists Dr. Tara Hardin and Dr. Gary Hardin feel privileged to help anxious patients using sleep dentistry.
Sleep dentistry is another name for sedation dentistry. At our Mason office, we use oral conscious sedation to help frightened patients relax more easily.
While general anesthesia simply “knocks out” the patient, the oral medication our Mason dentists use encourages the body’s natural relaxation response, lulling you into a state of calm.
Some patients are skeptical that anything less than total anesthetic could make them undergo a dental procedure without panicking, but sleep dentistry has a number of benefits, including:
- No anesthesia means no risk of adverse reactions
- Patients can drive themselves home after oral conscious sedation
- Experience a dentist visit consciously without fear or anxiety
Many patients who undergo sleep dentistry are able to overcome their fear of the dentist gradually with each visit. Dental phobia often stems from unpleasant childhood memories, and oral conscious sedation gives scared patients the opportunity to face their fears with a new mindset – sometimes for the first time in their lives.
To learn more, please contact Hardin Advanced Dentistry or call (513) 398-4448 to schedule a dental appointment without worry. Our sleep dentists serve patients in Mason and other Greater Cincinnati area communities, as well as Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana.
