Dental Sedation at Little Heroes
For young children, visiting a dentist’s office could be a new and scary experience. They may fear the unknown, and the possibility of pain. Unfortunately, it is during childhood when bad experiences create this atmosphere of fear in our minds and extends that to our adult lives. That’s why it is important to help children feel comfortable and safe during complex dental treatments. At Little Heroes, our staff uses help of methods such as sedation dentistry, to achieve this.
What Is Sedation Dentistry?
Sedation comes in many levels, but it is designed to help relax and prevent feeling pain during a dental procedure. When people hear the word sedation or anesthesia, they automatically think of going to sleep. However, there are levels of sedation, from minimal to general. When a patient is minimally/orally sedated, they will be awake and aware of everything. Their reflexes are intact and they will be personally communicating with the doctor. With the help of local anesthesia, there will be little to no pain, and they will be fully physically relaxed.
On the other hand, general anesthesia will have a patient completely asleep through the duration of the treatment.
What Is Single Tooth Anesthesia?
STA is a form of dental anesthesia, injecting medication directly to the tooth being worked on. Each tooth has nerve endings, and the goal of STA is to numb those endings. Children often do not like the effects of traditional anesthesia. This is because it will numb everything in the area of the tooth, including the tongue and cheek.
Benefits of Single Tooth Anesthesia
In addition to the benefit of extremely localized pain relief, STA offers several other advantages. This innovative procedure brings more safety measures. With the dosage matching the patient’s needs and being small enough to only target one tooth, the chances of receiving too much medication are diminished. This will also increase the efficiency of the medication.
The anesthesia is delivered directly to the location desired, so effects will not be reduced by being spread to nearby areas. Finally, because the cheeks and tongue are not numb, there are fewer chances of accidentally biting them due to the inability to tell where they are at.
Helping children feel comfortable during their dental procedures is an important part of dentistry. When they aren’t afraid, they are more likely to continue with proper care and maintenance of their teeth. With sedation dentistry and single tooth anesthesia in Laguna Hills, dentists can keep their young patients at ease. To get more information on this technique or to schedule an appointment, reach out to us at Little Heroes today.