Your gums keep your teeth in place and they frame your smile. Which is why poor gum health and disease requires treatment, as otherwise you could suffer from tooth loss. To ensure your treatments are comfortable, your Encinitas, CA, periodontal practice discusses our approach to dental sedation.

Treating and Managing Periodontal Disease

According to studies from the Centers for Disease Control, half of adults aged 30 and older suffer from some stage of periodontal disease. This could be bright on by untreated inflammation or a history of the dies in your family. Without treatment, this disease will grow in severity until the later stages known as periodontitis develops. This stage destroys the tissue connecting your teeth and gums to cause tooth loss. When you first notice symptoms or your dentist alerts you to the presence of the disease, you should seek treatment right away. Sore, red gums that bleed easily are often the first indicators of trouble. For minor stages, we could perform a deep cleaning. But more severe cases may need surgical procedures, such as gum grafts and treatment with laser dentistry. Fortunately, we have options to keep you comfortable!

Choosing the Option for You

First, we need to select which sedation option is best for you. This will be based on the extent of the procedure we’re conducting, as well as your overall anxiety levels. We also take age, weight, medical history, and dental history into account as well. A trained anesthesiologist will be on hand to monitor you as well, and to adjust levels as needed. But what options do we have to help you enter a calm state?

Three Forms of Sedation

The most mild and common option is nitrous oxide, which you inhale through a mask over your nose. You immediately enter a relaxed state, and the effects wear off once the procedure ends. In fact, many can return to work or school, or even drive themselves home.

Oral sedation, taken in a pill or liquid form before the procedure, helps people enter a deeper state of relaxation. You still remain conscious and able to respond to the dentist, but you have little to no memory of the procedure. A friend or family member will need to be on hand to take you home afterward. Some options may involve taking the pill the night before and avoiding food or drink for about eight hours.

The deepest form of relaxation, and one we typically select for people with major dental anxiety, is IV. This is also recommended for those undergoing extensive treatments too, such as gum grafting or dental implant placement. Again, the effects will take time to wear off and you will have no memory of the procedure.

Talk To Your Encinitas/San Diego, CA Periodontist About Our Calming Options

Our team wants to make sure you can obtain the care necessary to improve gum health and preserve your smile. If you would like to find out more about our calming agents and treatment options, call Dr. Kania’s office in Encinitas/San Diego, CA, at (760) 642-0711.