Sleep Dentistry
Sleep Dentistry Sydney
Sleep Dentistry Sydney
If anxiety and fear interfere with your oral health, sleep dentistry can help. At Pitt Street Dental Centre in Sydney, our patients’ comfort is priority along with premium quality care. Today’s advancements in dentistry means most treatments cause very little discomfort, but when that isn’t enough, we can offer sleep dentistry to calm anxious patients.
Sleep Dentistry Services
Sleep dentistry is a term for when we use medications or other methods to help the patient relax during a dental treatment. Not all forms of sleep dentistry put you completely to sleep. Some treatments are better known as sedation dentistry or twilight sedation. In any case, the goal is to help the patient relax without stress while the dentist performs the treatment. In most cases, even when awake, patients do not remember the treatment.
Sleep Dentistry vs Sedation Dentistry
Both services help patients overcome anxiety and fear of the dentist. They both refer to the use of methods that induce a sense of deep relaxation or, in some cases, sleep. The goal is to help the patient relax and get the dental treatments they need to restore their oral health. Here are the differences of the two:
Sleep Dentistry
This service puts the patient to sleep with the use of a medication or general anaesthesia. It may be helpful for patients with severe dental anxieties or fears and is sometimes used for more complicated dental procedures such as multiple wisdom teeth extraction or all-teeth-on-4 dental implants.
Sedation Dentistry
This is the more common type of sleep dentistry and may utilise oral medications, happy gas or an intravenous injection (IV) for twilight sedation. The deep state of relaxation helps most patients tolerate most dental treatments and is the preferred method to help with dental anxieties.
The Types of Sleep Dentistry – How Does it Work?
Many patients prefer oral medications, as they are effective and the most cost-effective. Often provided through a prescription, the medication may be taken about an hour before the treatment begins so that it takes full effect.
Nitrous Oxide, or happy gas, is administered with a breathing mask just before the treatment begins. It has a quick onset and wears off just as quick, making it a preferred method for patients who need to relax, but must return to their normal routine right after.
Twilight or IV Sedation Dentistry is administered intravenously into the forearm or the back of the hand, and puts the patient in a deep state of relaxation. It takes time to wear off and you may need to arrange a ride home after your dental treatment.
Sleep dentistry with general anaesthesia must be arranged ahead of time and will be monitored during the entire treatment. You will need to arrange for a ride home after your treatment.