Sedation

If you find yourself clenching and shaking at the very thought of the dentist, you may be experiencing dental anxiety. Dental anxiety is a term used to describe the fear and phobia around going to the dentist or anything dental-related. Dental anxiety can be associated with certain triggers such as needles, drills or the dental setting in general. Patients who suffer from dental anxiety can experience shakes, shivers, panic attacks, sweating, uneasy breathing and much more. 

At Westhills Dental Centre, we want to make your dental appointments as comfortable as possible. So, our dentists in Calgary are proud to offer sedation dentistry to any of our patients who may need it. Sedatives help you keep relaxed until we are finished with your dental appointment, and they also help minimize pain. 

There are various levels of sedatives which can be used at our dental office. Depending on your specific case and required-procedure, our Calgary dentists will suggest an appropriate method of sedation for you and your dental needs. We offer sedatives, such as:

• Oral Conscious Sedation: It’s an oral conscious sedation that is used to ease your nervousness. It requires you to take an oral sedative approximately an hour prior to your appointment. Oral conscious sedation is ideal for patients who require complicated or multiple dental procedures. 
• IV Sedation: It’s used to put a patient in the “twilight zone”, where you are still able to wake up but you’re on the edge of consciousness. You’ll unlikely feel any pain or discomfort; however you’ll be able to speak and respond to the dentist’s verbal cues. When you’re under this sedative, the sedation dentist in our Calgary practice will be able to safely perform the required dental work while you remain comfortable. 

Due to these sedation’s strong effects, you may not remember everything from the procedure and you might need someone to drive you home from the dental office. The effects generally wear off the following day, during which you can resume with your regular daily activities. Don’t worry, these sedatives are taken with proper and controlled doses, so it’s totally safe for you. 

Westhills Dental Centre strives to make every dental visit as comfortable as possible for all of our patients. Please contact us to learn more about our services.