Highlands Ranch Dental Anxiety

Dental Anxiety Highlands Ranch, CO

At Colorado Precision Dentistry, we can perform dental work on patients that are struggling with dental anxiety. If you avoid the dentist due to fear of what a procedure may be like or simply do not enjoy dental work, give us a call. In our Highlands Ranch dental office, we can ensure that you are comfortable and relaxed, regardless of the dental procedure. When you visit our office, we will meet with you to discuss what treatments you need and create a plan for how to keep your mouth healthy while easing any fears that you have about dentistry in general. We will keep you informed about the entire process so that you can make decisions regarding dental care without experiencing any anxiety.

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How can I ease my fears about dental care without medication?

When you visit our dental office, we can discuss ways that you can prevent experiencing anxiety while receiving dental care. Give us a call to go over any and all methods for dealing with dental anxiety that we can offer. In some cases, all a patient needs to do is play music on headphones during the appointment. In other cases, we may need medication or another method to deal with dental anxiety.

How can I prepare for my dentist appointment?

Another easy way to calm your fears is to visit our Highlands Ranch dental office and meet with Dr. Bailey and Dr. Leyva prior to the actual appointment. Taking the time to tour our office, where you can sit in the dentist chair and have a conversation, will allow you to become familiar with our team and office environment. After this meeting, when you do have your teeth cleaned, you are doing so in an atmosphere that you feel comfortable in with friendly and familiar faces. During your consultation, we can also discuss what you can expect from a teeth cleaning or a specific procedure. This will help you to mentally prepare for how long it will take, what dental tools we will use, what you may feel during the process and what the recovery period will be, if any. At Colorado Precision Dentistry, we find that the more informed our patients are the more comfortable and relaxed they feel. This one appointment can help to alleviate the fear of dentists that you are experiencing.

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Highlands Ranch Dental Anxiety

Sedation Dentistry Can Reduce Your Dental Anxiety

In our Highlands Ranch dental office, we practice mild sedation dentistry that can be used to reduce and prevent dental anxiety. Here are some of the questions we regularly answer about sedation dentistry.

Will I be asleep when sedated?

Typically not. Sleep dentistry is usually reserved for oral surgery and lengthy procedures. Sedation dentistry will help you relax and can make you drowsy, so some patients do nod off. However, with our sedation methods, you are still in control of your body and are technically not put to sleep.

Can everyone use sedation dentistry?

To determine if you are healthy enough for sedation (most people are), we recommend that you schedule an appointment with our Colorado dental office. We will meet with you to discuss the type of sedation that will be best for your procedure and the level of dental anxiety that you are experiencing.

How is sedation dentistry administered?

There are two most common forms of sedation: one is taking an anti-anxiety pill an hour before the procedure begins, the other is the use of nitrous oxide. One anti-anxiety pill can help you to feel entirely relaxed and eliminate your fear of dentists. We offer nitrous oxide to children who are anxious, but also to many adult patients! If a procedure without sedation needs local anesthetic, this will still be administered, but it is often less painful and works better with the addition of sedation.

Will I be able to move around like normal?

Yes, with mild sedation dentistry you can continue to engage in conversation and respond to commands; but your response times may be slightly delayed and your mind not as clear as normal. This is why when taking an anti-anxiety pill, we recommend that you have someone drive you home. With nitrous oxide, we flush your system with pure oxygen afterwards so by the time you get out of the chair you are back to normal.

Are there any side effects of sedation dentistry?

Most of the time, the sedation pill effect goes away within an hour of your procedure being complete. If you are more heavily sedated or put to sleep for oral surgery, it can take a couple of hours to feel normal but this is rare. In our Highlands Ranch dental office, we use the least amount of sedation to help you to feel completely relaxed and comfortable. Thus, it is effective without staying in your system for too long.

Can children benefit from sedation dentistry?

Yes, children may need sedation when going through dental work so that they can hold still long enough for a dentist to complete the dental work. This is a unique specialty and not offered at every dentist office.

Definition of Dental Terminology
Cosmetic Dentistry
Cosmetic dentistry is generally used to refer to any dental work that improves the appearance (though not necessarily the function) of a person’s teeth, gums and/or bite.
Decay
Tooth decay is when the enamel of the tooth begins to decay and cause erosion from plaque and tartar on the teeth.
Dental Caries
Dental caries are also known as cavities and result from a lack of proper oral hygiene leaving plaque that forms tiny holes in the teeth.
Dental Checkup
A dental checkup is an appointment that involves cleaning the teeth, identifying any signs of infection and removing said signs of infection at least once every six months in the office.
Dental Filling
A dental filling involves restoring the structure of the tooth by using metal, alloy, porcelain or plastic to fill the tooth.
Dental Prophylaxis
A dental prophylaxis is a professional and detailed cleaning that involves the removal of plaque, calculus and stains from the teeth.
Dental Sealants
Dental sealants contain a resinous material that we apply to the chewing surfaces of the posterior teeth to prevent dental caries.
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity.
Gingivitis
Gingivitis is the inflammation of gum tissue that results from plaque, other infections in the mouth and poor oral hygiene.
Preventive Dentistry
Preventive dentistry is the dentistry that focuses on maintaining oral health in order to prevent the spread of plaque, the formation of tartar and infections in the mouth.
Tartar
Tartar forms when plaque builds up on the surface of the teeth and calcifies into a hard surface that is much more difficult to remove and will require professional treatment.
Tooth Enamel
Tooth enamel is the protective visible outer surface of a tooth that contains the dentin and dental pulp.

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