Posts Tagged ‘oral sedation’

Traditional braces have been long been the requirement in orthodontics until recent developments brought about retainers and invisalign braces. Today we will compare Invisalign braces versus traditional orthodontics or braces.

Invisalign isn’t appropriate for complex bite problems or different cases of misalignment. Traditional wire and bracket braces are typically used for those complex problems.

Invisalign is commonly used to correct the following dental problems:
- Overly crowded teeth. When there is not enough room in the jaw for all of the teeth to fit comfortably or normally (one to five millimeters).
- Widely spaced teeth. When there is too much space between the teeth due to abnormal growth of the jaw or shifting of the teeth due to missing teeth (one millimeter to five millimeters).
- Overbite/overjet. When the upper teeth bite over the lower teeth.
- Crossbite. When the upper and lower jaws are misaligned, causing one or more upper teeth to bite on the inside of the lower teeth, on either the front and/or sides of the mouth.
- Mild relapse. After traditional braces have been removed, when some relapsing tooth movement has occurred.
- Invisalign may also be a treatment alternative for certain simple malocclusions (bite irregularities)

Invisalign aligners are removable, which allows great freedom for eating, drinking certain beverages, brushing and flossing. You should only drink water with them on, in order to avoid staining the aligners. Even though they come off, they still must be worn for at least 20 hours a day in order to reposition the teeth successfully. So yes that means you will still have to sleep with them in, unless it’s a cat nap. Typically you will use about twenty to thirty aligners for the upper and lower teeth to complete the treatment, which lasts on average about a year. Different alignment problems take different times. Each aligner moves the teeth in increments as small as .25 millimeters to .33 millimeters.

You might wonder, how do they create something so precise? They use computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing processes at the Align Technologies dental lab. These are based off of teeth impressions and are always custom made.

Don’t get too excited, traditional braces will still be used for things such as
- Crowding and spacing greater than five millimeters.
- Skeletal malocclusions.
- Discrepancies involving centric-relation/centric-occlusion (how the upper and lower jaw joints and jaw muscles close together).
- Teeth that are severely rotated.
- Open bites in the front and back of the mouth that need to be closed.
- Teeth that are severely tipped.
- Upper or lower jaws with multiple missing teeth.

Dental Sedation Methods
Dental sedation is a method that can be practiced when a patient suffers from a fear of the dentist. Depending on the extent of the anxiety or phobia, varying levels of dental sedation can be applied, including conscious sedation with sedatives, intravenous (IV) sedation and inhalation nitrous oxide sedation. Patients who might otherwise avoid the dentist due to their extreme fear of the dentist and possibly fear of needles, wouldn’t be aboue to receive dental treatment essential for good oral health without these sedation dentistry methods.

Types of Dental Sedation
Currently there are 4 types of dental sedation processes utilized by sedation dentists today:
Oral Sedatives
Oral sedative medications such as diazepam can be given to a patient the night prior to a dentistry operation or half-hour to an hour prior to the dental appointment, depending on the severity of the patients fear and anxiety. However, oral sedatives do not offer pain relief, so an injection of local anesthetic will also be administered.
Intravenous (IV) Sedation
Similar to oral sedatives, intravenous (IV) sedation does not provide pain relief, so an injection of local anesthetic will also be administered in conjunction with this process of dental sedation.
Nitrous Oxide Sedation
Another form of conscious inhalation sedation, nitrous oxide gas (also known as laughing gas) is practiced to bring on a state of relaxation. A local anesthetic will be administered in combination with nitrous oxide sedation to eliminate pain.
General Anesthesia
This technique of dental sedation refers to the use of anesthetic to render the patient unconscious. Contrary to other sedation techniques, the patient will be entirely unaware of their environment, making the use of local anesthetic unnecessary.
Degrees of Dental Sedation
The four dental sedation processes numbered previously can provide varying degrees of sedation. These include:

Anxiolysis
This refers to techniques of bringing on “light sedation.” There is numerous forms of sedatives that result in anxiolysis; however, nitrous oxide, a form of inhalation sedation, is the most commonly applied process to bring on this type of relaxation.
Conscious Sedation
Moderate dental sedation can refer to either nitrous oxide or IV sedation. These sedatives may induce conscious sedation, where the patient will be awake and able to reply to instructions, but will be in a state of extreme relaxation.
Deep Sedation
Deep sedation refers to a state between unconscious and conscious dental sedation. Patients will not be able to respond to commands in a consistent manner and may need some assistance with breathing in the event that they are unable to keep their airway open.
Unconsciousness
General anesthesia causes the airway to close. As a result, patients will need assistance with breathing and will not respond to commands. This method of dental sedation is reserved for oral surgery.

If your looking for a Sedation Dentist in Minneapolis Minnesota contact Dr. Tim Clavin at (612) 332-5122. If your afraid of the dentist I’m sure you will have plenty of questions you will want to ask, so linked previously is our most Frequently Asked Questions.

Do you or someone you know have a fear of the dentist? It is a very common fear that people have but there is hope in Sedation Dentistry.

There is more than one option to choose from when you choose sedation dentistry. Some dentists only use Oral Sedation while others also offer I.V Sedation.

Oral sedation is the most common option available.
Prescription medication is given to the patient so they can arrive relaxed. The patient will sleep or feel very relaxed during the visit.

I.V Sedation is not used as much but it is the more controlled option.

A patient will be sure to have full sedation during the entire visit and the level of sedation can be changed during the procedure.

To find out more about sedation dentistry contact Dr. Tim Clavin at his Minneapolis Cosmetic Dentist Office today.

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