Can Sleep Dentistry Help with My Endodontic Treatment?
Anxious Patients, This One's for You!
Endodontic therapy (or root canal treatment) is a very common dental procedure, performed to essentially "save" a tooth with a diseased or infected root. While the procedure is most common in adult patients, children can experience severe decay or trauma to a tooth that will require endodontic therapy to treat. The good news is, the procedure has a very high success rate – with the average procedure ranging from 1-2 hours in duration.
Sleep Dentistry: Improving a Patient's Overall Experience
While a local anesthetic is typically administered before a endodontic procedure to numb the area being treated, patients can also take advantage of sleep dentistry (or sedation dentistry), and choose to be put to sleep for their procedure. Patients of all ages who experience severe feelings of fear or anxiety going into their treatment are usually ideal candidates for sleep dentistry. Although rare, patients with certain health conditions may not be good candidates for sedation. The endodontist or dentist will be able to tell you whether sleep dentistry is safe for you after a brief assessment.
Not Always Necessary, but Sometimes Helpful
Although usually never required for root canal therapy, the endodontist or dentist may recommend in some cases that a patient be put to sleep for their treatment. Complete sedation can help to control a patient's movement and gag reflex in addition to reducing their level of anxiety. It can even help to shorten the duration or number of visits required for more complex procedures. All of these factors will be taken into account by your dental health practitioner and discussed with you in order to make an appropriate decision.
Fighting Your Dental Anxiety
Are you an anxious patient (like so many of us are)? Don't stress… you're in good hands! Dr. Samuel Toong is a friendly Burlington dentist and specialist in Dental Anesthesia at Asleep for Dentistry. His extensive experience in the field of sleep dentistry makes him an excellent choice for patients who prefer to be sedated for their dental procedure. You can always count on Dr. Toong to make your visit as comfortable as possible! Schedule an appointment with us today.
Share:
