A number of people choose not to visit the dentist for regular check-ups because they are too afraid or suffer from dental anxiety. We want our patients at The Drive Dental to be as comfortable as they can every time they enter our office. As such, we offer comfort aids for patients to make their visit more enjoyable. We use the following comfort aids in our office:

Sedation dentistry: Offers an excellent way to ensure an anxiety-free dental experience to patients who are afraid of the dentist. There are 4 levels of sedation:

1. Minimal sedation: Oral medication in pill form (Ativan, Rezipan) is provided prior to treatment. Although this type of sedation does not cause sleep, it dulls the senses; the patient is awake, but relaxed.
2. Moderate sedation: The patient is conscious, but may not remember the procedure. There may also be slurring of words immediately after the treatment.
3. Deep sedation: The patient is on the edge of consciousness, but can still be woken.
4. General Anesthetic: This is generally used during longer medical procedures, whereby the patient is in deep sleep throughout the procedure.

It very important that we have your up-to-date medical history, so we are aware of any medications you are taking or allergies you may have before administering any sedation.

Topical Anesthetic: A fruit-flavoured ointment that is directly applied on the skin or the inside of a patient’s mouth to numb the area the dentist will be working on. Dentists use this to relieve pain when administering the local anesthetic before procedures.

Local Anesthetic: Medicine that is injected into the gum or inner cheek to numb a part of the patient’s mouth for the duration of the dental procedure. Often, the patient will fell numb even for a couple of hours after the treatment. This is normal although it may be difficult to eat or drink. We advice patients to call our office immediately if pain is experienced after the numbing subside.