At Alexandria Old Town Dental, we specialize in treating patients that are suffering from The Dental Implant Procedure. If you have been avoiding the dentist due to fear of what a procedure could be like or simply do not enjoy having dental work done, give us a call. In our dental office, we will do everything in our power to ensure that you are comfortable and relaxed, regardless of what procedure is being performed. When you visit our office, we will meet with you to discuss what treatments you need and create a plan for how to keep your mouth healthy while easing any fears that you have about dentistry or procedures in general. This way you will be informed and empowered to make decisions regarding dental care without experiencing any anxiety.
When you visit our dental office, we can discuss ways that you can prevent experiencing anxiety while receiving dental care. In addition to the medication that we can provide, you can try relaxing by drinking a glass of tea. There are several natural varieties that you can purchase at the health foods store that will relax and calm you. At times, this can be enough to put you into a naturally relaxed state. Some patients also find that they benefit from meditation and acupuncture.
Another easy way to help calm your fears is to visit our dental office and meet us without having actual dental work performed. Taking the time to tour our office, where you can sit in the dentist chair and have a conversation, will allow you to become familiar with our staff and office environment. This way when you do have your teeth cleaned, and dental work performed; you are doing so in an atmosphere that you feel comfortable in with procedures being completed by friendly and familiar faces. During your consultation, we can also discuss what you can expect from a teeth cleaning or a specific procedure. This will help you to prepare mentally for how long it will take, what dental tools will be used, what you could feel during the process and what the recovery period will be, if any. At Alexandria Old Town Dental, we have found that the more informed our patients are the more comfortable and relaxed they feel. This one appointment can help to alleviate the dental anxiety that you are experiencing.
In our dental office, we practice sedation dentistry that can be used to reduce and prevent dental anxiety. Here are some of the questions we are regularly asked about sedation.
Typically not. Sleep dentistry is usually reserved for oral surgery and lengthy procedures. Sedation dentistry will help you relax and can make you drowsy, so some patients do nod off, but you are technically not put to sleep.
Check out what others are saying about our implant dentistry services on Yelp: Dental Implant Procedure Alexandria
To determine if you are healthy enough for sedation (most people are) we recommend that you schedule an appointment with our dental office. We will meet with you to discuss the type of sedation that would be best suited for your procedure and the level of dental anxiety that you are experiencing.
The most common form of sedation is taking a pill an hour before the procedure begins. One pill can help you to feel entirely relaxed so that your dental anxiety is eliminated. Most procedures like teeth cleaning or fixing a simple cavity do not necessarily hurt so with sedation many people do not require additional medication. However, if you would like pain medication as well, we can give it to you after the sedation has taken effect.
Yes, with sedation dentistry you can continue to engage in conversation and respond to commands but your response times may be slightly delayed and your mind not as clear as normal. This is why we recommend that you either have someone drive you home or wait until it has worn off completely before driving.
Most of the time the sedation goes away within an hour of your procedure being complete. If you are more heavily sedated or put to sleep for oral surgery, it can take a couple of hours to feel normal but this is rare. In our dental office, we use the least amount of sedation to help you to feel completely relaxed and comfortable so that it is effective without staying in your system for too long.
Yes, typically children need sedation when having a lot of dental work completed so that they can hold still long enough for the work to be performed. This is a unique specialty and not offered at every dentist office.
Yes, laser dentistry is transforming how dental procedures are being completed. When you visit our dental office, you can be confident that we will use the latest technology available to make your procedure more comfortable. Lasers allow us to do so because the laser energy is fine and can target small spaces without irritating the surrounding tissue. This reduces discomfort and the recovery time. Lasers are also less invasive than traditional dental tools which means that there is less bleeding and swelling than there would be otherwise. They can be used in treating tooth decay, gum disease, and in restorative procedures. If you want a more comfortable experience and to reduce your dental anxiety, we highly recommend visiting a laser dentistry office. To learn about the procedures that we perform using lasers, call (703) 763-1078 and schedule an appointment to speak with Dr. Eddie Longman. At Alexandria Old Town Dental, we have found that when lasers are used many of our patients no longer need sedation or pain medication because the common factors that create dental anxiety are eliminated. For example, the noise, heat, and vibration that is traditionally associated with the dental drill is not present when using lasers.
To learn more about sedation dentistry, new dental technology or how to reduce your dental anxiety, call and schedule an appointment with our dentist office today.
Q. How can I prepare for the dental implant procedure?
Q. Can sedation dentistry help me?
Q. Are there negative side effects of sedation dentistry?
Q. How do I know if dental implants are right for me?
Back to top of The Dental Implant Procedure