Does the idea of visiting the dentist make you want to pee your pants? Do you shudder in fear as you flashback to your childhood when your friendly neighborhood dentist was holding a syringe with a 5 inch needle aimed at your mouth? You’re not alone. According to sedation.com, nearly 30% of the population has an overwhelming fear of dentists. A sense of panic hits them and they decide they’d rather suffer with the pain of a rotting tooth than suffer through another root canal. To compound the problem, anxiety and fear can cause you to have a lower pain tolerance. That means if you walk into a dentist office anxious or fearful, you’re already at a disadvantage and will most likely have more pain than if you walked in relaxed. So what’s the solution?

Three beautiful words. Oral Conscious Sedation. Say them aloud with me. Invite them in and get to know them. They will become your new BFF. What exactly is oral conscious sedation? It’s a means of achieving sedation by taking oral medication. You’re not put asleep during the procedure. You’re awake, you can answer questions and respond to commands, but you are pain-free and completely relaxed. Through oral conscious sedation, you can experience a dental visit with little or no pain, and possibly little memory of the event, which lets the dentist do his job in a more efficient and thorough manner. If your dentist doesn’t have to sit there for an hour trying to calm you down or pry open your tense jaw, he’s free to get in there, do the work, and get out.

It may seems simple to you, take a pill and all is well. And for you, that will likely be the scenerio. But you’ll want to know that your dentist has the proper training so you find yourself feeling like Goldilocks, not over-sedated or under-sedated, but just right. Every state’s sedation regulations differ, but most likely there are special classes your dentist will need to attend in order to be certified and legally allowed to administer oral conscious sedation.D.O.C.S or Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation is a well known organization who offer sedation education to dentists. Your dentist needs to be educated in the specific drugs that are available, their side effects and how to monitor your safety and well being while still achieving a sedative effect. There are many different drugs that may be used in oral conscious sedation and your dentist will decide which is most appropriate for you. This is usually based on your health history and level of anxiety.

Are there side effects, you ask? There are always side effects. But most of the side effects from the sedation drugs can actually be beneficial to you. For example, some of the drugs used for conscious sedation have a side effect called “retrograde amnesia”. This means that by the next day you may have very little memory of the dental visit. You don’t have to ask me twice if I’d like to forget the sound of my brain being drilled out or the story of the receptionists genius little toddler who loves to eat dog food. Another side effect you may experience is dry mouth. A dry mouth is beneficial to both you and your dentist. It’s beneficial to your dentist because it prevents him from having to work under waterfall conditions. And it’s beneficial to you because you won’t have to deal with the dental hygienist constantly vacuuming out your muzzle with that unnecessarily loud suction machine. There’s nothing like a dry mouth on a calm, relaxed person to get a dental procedure completed in record time with little or no complications. You should always ask your dentist (or any doctor) about all possible side effects and what you can expect from the specific drugs the dentist is going to administer. Surprises are fun, but not when they involve your health.

When you want to find a dentist, make sure you ask if they offer oral conscious sedation. It’s time we put our fears of the Big Bad Wolf to rest and get in there and take care of our teeth, before they have their own resting place in a glass of water next to the bed.

For more information on a pain-free dental visit, read about the Waterlase system!