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10 Things Your Dentist By WILLIAM MAULDIN AOL: 5. "When I say this won't hurt a bit, boy, do I mean it."The ADA says modern dentistry should be painless, but the rise in time-consuming cosmetic work has some patients a little too eager to find ways of coping with hours of discomfort. To make these long procedures less daunting, dentists are using everything in their arsenal to keep patients comfortable, from old standards Valium and nitrous oxide to something called "conscious sedation." Introduced nearly a century ago to help women endure childbirth, "twilight sleep," as it's sometimes advertised, involves mixing a tranquilizer or narcotic with local anesthesia. Many patients leave the office with no memory of the procedure. So what's the problem with avoiding pain? An increase in the use of sedatives and anesthetics means an increased risk of complications, including vomiting, fainting and prolonged recovery time. "The more you lose consciousness, the more risky it is," says ADA spokesperson Kimberly Harms. If your dentist recommends twilight sleep for your next procedure, check to see that he or someone in his office is licensed to dispense anything stronger than laughing gas. Dr JPM: Another series of good points, but moot points. The potential litigation involved with complications of these more aggressive sedation techniques makes it a self-limiting proposal. In other words, if your dentist is comfortable offering these techniques, do check credentials as suggested, ask about emergency protocols if things go wrong, have a little faith in your dentist, and realize that the dentist has a lot more to lose if things go wrong. I'm also surprised that the author didn't suggest a price check before consenting to these advanced sedation techniques. Extra time and materials are required for these techniques, so an extra fee is generated, which may or may not be covered by your insurance. In my office, I am not comfortable offering anything more potent than local anesthetic, commonly known as novocaine. I have enough training to know how all those sedation techniques can go bad, and have made the personal decision to NOT put my patients at additional risk. There are many less invasive methods to keep an anxious patient comfortable, which are routinely used at our office. If you are "a little too eager to find ways of coping with hours of discomfort" then you ought to reconsider dentists or reconsider the procedure. You don't need to get high at the dentist to cope with "time-consuming cosmetic work." If I am being a bit Draconian here, good.
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