The Complete Sleep Dentistry Guide 2022

For some patients, visiting a dentist is nothing less than traumatising. Dental visits can increase anxiety levels for various reasons. And it prevents patients from practising adequate dental care that affects their oral health along with overall health.

To reduce stress, dentists can use sleep dentistry for anxious patients. Sedatives like general anaesthesia are used to make patients relaxed and calm during the treatments. It ensures optimal outcomes, lets the dentist do their work, and eliminates the risks of startling patients.

If you are skipping your dental visits or end up panicking during the visit, sleep dentistry is for you. Handling anxious patients can cause distress for dentists, therefore, they use sleep dentistry. It includes sedation to make patients feel safe, relaxed, and calm.

All in all, if you have dental phobia, sleep dentistry can be a blessing for you. 

You can overcome your fears with two or more sleep dentistry sessions. Reasons for dental phobia can emerge from poor dental experience in the past or childhood trauma. Despite the factor that contributes to a dental phobia, sleep dentistry helps in alleviating fears and making patients’ comfort a priority.

Who should opt for Sleep Dentistry?

If you face any of the following issues, you can opt for sleep dentistry;

• Generally fear visiting the dentist
• Avoid the dentist due to poor past experiences
• Teeth or gums sensitivity
• Gagging reflex
• Dementia or Alzheimer’s
• Lower pain threshold

Besides these reasons, there can be other factors to choose sleep dentistry. If there is anything that makes you anxious about visiting a dentist, it is better to discuss your concerns with a professional before starting with the treatments. It will help you in finding the best sedation solution that suits your specific needs.

How Safe is Sleep Dentistry?

Sleep dentistry comes with minimal risks. The sedation used is general anaesthesia and is properly administered. Sleep dentistry is practised by certified professionals, which ensures patients’ safety, either kids, adults, or the elderly.

Patients with specific health concerns are suggested to discuss their conditions with a dentist before starting any treatment. Before going for sleep dentistry, it is suggested to bring everything under your dentist’s knowledge, from minor flu to prolonged issues like asthma or allergies. To perform safe and secure sedation dental care, you must also tell your dentist if you are on any medications.

Benefits and Advantages of Sleep Dentistry

Sleep dentistry is not just about making patients calm and relaxed. It will also help your dentist to perform their work efficiently along with ensuring your overall well being.

Sleep dentistry comes with a myriad of benefits, including:

Ultimate Comfort

When it comes to lengthy dental treatments, for some patients it is hard to stay in a chair. Sleep dentistry makes sure that you are in a comfortable and relaxed state of mind throughout the procedure. It also helps patients to perform efficiently, eliminating the risks.

Enhanced Patient Cooperation

To ensure optimal outcomes and safe procedures, it is important for the patients to cooperate with their dentists. Anxiety and stress hinder the cooperation of patients during treatments, especially the complex ones. Sleep dentistry helps patients relax, which helps dentists to effectively carry out the treatments, ensuring desired outcomes.

Better Control

Considering various conditions, some patients find it hard to stay still during the treatments, which become tedious and frustrating for the dentists at times. With sleep dentistry, patients transition to a state of relaxation that offers enhanced control. It ensures that all the procedures are carried out with precision and accuracy.

Time Effectiveness

Carrying out lengthy and complex procedures in one go can become impossible if the patient is not cooperating with the dentist. For some people, due to busy routines, it can be hard to make time to visit their dentist multiple times. Sleep dentistry comes in handy in making the best use of time.

Limited Memory of the Procedure

Sleep dentistry is often used for patients with dentophobia. With sedation, patients are in a more relaxed state. As much as sleep dentistry helps in offering a relaxed and calm state of mind, some patients may not remember most parts of the procedure. How amazing is that! Perfect for people with dental phobias – you don’t have to run away from the dentist anymore.

Reduced Gag Reflex

Lengthy dental treatments can be traumatising for patients with a stronger gag reflex. Sleep dentistry significantly keeps the reflex under control. It helps patients to stay comfortable throughout the procedure. Sleep dentistry is a convenient choice if you feel like throwing up or choking during dental procedures.

Which procedures can be performed with sleep dentistry?

Sleep dentistry allows dentists to perform all kinds of dental treatments with ease and comfort. More specifically, dentists suggest sleep dentistry for root canals. Also, it can be instrumental during dental fillings, tooth extraction, or an implant; sleep dentistry offers enhanced control and comfort.

All in all, sleep dentistry can be used for any kind of dental treatment from minor fixing to major surgeries.

What are the Side Effects of Sleep Dentistry?

There are no such side effects of sleep dentistry as it is a safe and secure option to go for. However, you must discuss your concerns with your dentist beforehand.

Some sleep dentistry side-effects include;

• Dry mouth
• Hiccups
• A light headache
• Dizziness
• Nausea
• Visual disturbances

Side-effects severity for sleep dentistry vary as per the patient. Mostly, these side effects are not to worry about. They usually last a few hours in most patients.

The side effects can be reduced by discussing any underlying issues before going for sleep dentistry. Good overall health plays an important role in effective sleep dentistry.

Self Care Tips

If you are following your dentist’s pre and post-treatment instructions, there is nothing to worry about. However, if you are facing any side effects, it is better to consult your dentist instantly.

What is the Cost of Sleep Dentistry?

A price cannot be put on your health. However, the cost varies depending on your dentists and where you are located. If you are looking for affordable sleep dentistry without compromising the quality, find a dentist near you on Healthengine.

Points to Remember

Here are a few things you must not overlook, while going for sleep dentistry.

• Talk to your dentist in detail before opting for sleep dentistry.
• To prevent confusion, talk about how much it can cost you forehand.
• Speak about emergency care like oxygen or required medications to control any side effects before the treatment.
• Do not forget to inform your dentist comprehensively about your medical history.
• If you are on any kind of medication, bring it to your dentist’s notice in the first consult.
• Make sure that your dentist is offering a sedation dose as per Australian Dental Board guidelines.
• Read pre-treatment consent forms thoroughly and talk to your dentist if there is any confusion.
• It is better to have someone with you in the first 6 hours post-treatment. It ensures a safe trip back home.

Sleep dentistry is proven to eliminate or reduce the fear of visiting a dentist. You can be rest assured of being at ultimate comfort while in a dental chair with sleep dentistry. Positive dental experience ensures consistent visits to a dentist when required.