Sedation Options
Caring Team, Calming Environment, Comfort Options
When you arrive, our friendly team members will listen intently to your concerns to better address your dental anxiety. We’ll do all we can to put you at ease.
Our beautiful office is designed for your comfort. Most of our care rooms feature a view of a serene courtyard and fountain. But if you’d prefer solitude, we can also provide a private care room.
We can also help calm you with:
- Fresh-baked cookies
- Blankets and pillows
- Headphones
What Dental Sedation Can Do For You
Dr. Shepherd & Dr. Greaves have both undergone thorough training and have over a decade of combined experience in administering dental sedation to relieve your dental anxiety and provide comfort throughout your visit.
Dr. Shepherd on sedation options
Read Transcript
I've been doing sedation dentistry now for about nine years and I have seen a lot of patients who, when they first came to the practice, really couldn't even make it past the front door. Even getting to that point took them months and months.
One woman in particular that I worked with, I remember meeting with her in a front office private space when I first met her. After a couple of visits of just talking, we finally got her back into a treatment room so we could take X-rays and start finding out what needed to be done. Then we did sedation dentistry for her and she needed a lot of work. We basically restored her entire mouth in a couple of sedation appointments, which she slept through completely. The sedation dentistry that we do actually has an amnesia property to it, so she wasn't traumatized by the experience, remembering that she'd had all this dentistry done.
The great success story of it is not just that she was able to get her mouth back in good shape but now she doesn't need it. She's come to a level of trust and comfort in the office that she can have me come in and do not just X-rays but can actually do procedures without having to have that medication because she's not afraid anymore. She knows I'm not going to hurt her. She knows I'm not going to do anything that's going to make her feel uncomfortable, and that we won't proceed with anything until she is comfortable. That, for me, is the big success. Not that just she made it through the dentistry but that she's made it over that fear all together.
Maybe you had a bad experience at the dental office as a child. Some people even know they need dental care but do not seek it out because they fear judgment.
No matter the cause, dental sedation can help put you at ease. Most of our patients only remember a pleasantly foggy impression of their entire visit!
Thanks to advances in modern dentistry and the use of dental sedation, most treatments can be virtually pain-free! You should also know our office is a guilt-free zone – our compassionate team will never make you feel judged.
Your Dental Sedation Options
Because every patient’s dental anxiety is unique, we give you choices when it comes to relieving your stress. Our Albuquerque, NM dental office offers three dental sedation options.
- Inhaled sedation is a gas mixed with oxygen that you inhale through a small mask. We can administer this form of sedation to most patients, including children. Just inhale and your worries will melt away as you drift into a dream-like state.
- Oral conscious dental sedation is administered in the form of a prescription pill that you take at a predetermined time before you visit our office. You’ll arrive fully relaxed and will only have a foggy memory of your treatment.
- IV sedation is the strongest form of dental sedation we offer. You will stay conscious so we can communicate with you, but most patients don’t remember a thing!
For your safety and comfort, we carefully monitor your level of dental sedation during treatment. You will need a trusted friend or family member to drive you to and from your visit.
So you won’t feel rushed, we can also provide extended appointments by request.
Let us help you conquer your dental anxiety with comfort dental sedation options in Albuquerque, NM – call Uptown Dental Associates at 505.219.4548. You can also use our online form.