If you have sore and bleeding gums that need periodontic treatment, or missing teeth that need replacement with dental implants, we can help. Not only that, but we can help ensure your comfort with dental sedation. In today’s blog, your Encinitas/San Diego, CA, periodontist talks about sedation dentistry.

When You Need Periodontal Treatment

When should you see our team for periodontic treatment? If you have sore, red, and bleeding gums, then you should consider an appointment with our team. From deep cleanings to advanced laser treatments, we can help manage the disease to protect the health and stability of your smile. We could also conduct gum grafts to address recession that alters your smile’s appearance in negative ways, or employ laser-assisted jawbone grafting to strengthen smiles so they can support dental implants. Speaking of, we can address missing teeth with dental implants too, which provide a decades-long solution to adult tooth loss. To ensure the process is crown, we can offer sedation dentistry.

Choosing the Right Option for You

We could recommend this if you are undergoing extensive treatments, such as jawbone grafting or dental implant placement, or to help patients who have dental anxiety or special needs that could complicate the ability to undergo care. We have three options to choose from, and will look at any medications you are currently taking, as well as your age, weight, and medical history. Your anxiety levels are also a factor!

Dental Sedation

For more minor procedures, we could offer a mild solution known as nitrous oxide, or laughing gas. With this option, we will put a mask over your nose and you will inhale a gas that lets you reach a deep state of calm and relaxation. We can adjust levels of calming with this option, and you will stay conscious and able to respond to the dentist as needed, but will have no memory of the process usually. The effects also wear off quickly, so you can return to your normal routine faster.

If you require a more substantial calming solution, we could offer oral conscious sedation, which is taken before the procedure in the form of a pill or liquid. You reach a deep state of calm but still remain conscious, having no memory of the process. The effects take time to wear off, so you need someone available to take you home afterward.

The deepest form is IV sedation, which helps you enter a sleep-like state with no memory of the procedure. A trained anesthesiologist will monitor you the entire time, and again you will need to arrange for someone to take you home.

Schedule a Visit for Comfortable Treatment

Whether you need treatment for gum disease or tooth replacement with dental implants. When you are ready to schedule an appointment, call Dr. Ann Kania in San Diego, CA, at 760-642-0711.