Ann Arbor Smiles

Toll Free: 1-877-597-7772

Serving the Ann Arbor, Saline, Ypsilanti, Brighton, Canton, Chelsea and surrounding communities

Thanks for visiting our home on the internet for sedation dentistry! You might have heard our ad on the radio or seen our ads in the Yellowpages and we appreciate you taking the time to investigate what really could change your dental experience for the rest of your life. We invite you to explore this website and our main homepage located at: www.annarborsmiles.com. We welcome you to visit there and specifically check out our "Mission" page. We know that establishing a good trustworthy relationship is critical to our interaction. This will give you an idea of our standards and philosophy of dentistry.

Whether you live in Ann Arbor, Saline, Ypsilanti, Canton, Milan, Chelsea, Belleville or any other surrounding area, we'd love for you to consider our services in sedation dentistry to help you attain the dental health you've dreamed of having. People have traveled as far as the Mackinaw Bridge to Kentucky for our sedation services! Come find out why for yourself. Ask us about our gas reimbursement policy if you are traveling a farther distance to come see us.

Below we have tried to explain some of the basics of how sedation dentistry can help you experience anxiety free dentistry. We have helped hundreds of fearful patients recover from YEARS of dental neglect in just a few appointments- it can be a reality for you as well. Please feel free to call our office at any point at 1-877-597-7772 (Toll free) and set up a free consultation with one of our doctors regarding sedation dentistry and your dental health needs.

Why sedation dentistry?

We have had patients investigate sedation as an adjunct to their treatment for a variety of reasons. Perhaps you can relate to some of these. Studies estimate that 30-50% of the population does not go for regular dental care because of fear and anxiety- so you are NOT ALONE!

• Your teeth have trouble getting numb and the dentist continues to do their work
• You have a strong gag reflex or difficulty opening your mouth that makes appointments frustrating every time you receive care
• You have had bad experiences in the past and felt that the dentist didn't give you the personalized attention that you deserve
• You hate the sights, sounds, and smells in a dental office
• General discomfort and anxiety in the dental office
• You have skipped appointments or hung up the phone over and over again due to fear and anxiety
• You know that there is treatment needing to be done, but have put it off over and over again
• You know you need a lot of dental work, but feel that you don't have the time available that it would take to fix everything (work or personal schedules take priority)

WE UNDERSTAND THESE ISSUES and have helped hundreds of patients with all of these issues with AMAZING success! We can confidently say that you can be freed of your overwhelming fear at the dentist. Patients who have received care under sedation are continuously shocked at the effectiveness and level of comfort they experienced during and after their appointments.

So what IS sedation dentistry exactly?

Sedation dentistry can encompass a variety of adjunctive methods to help a patient lower their anxiety. In its basic sense sedation is a general term meaning "sleepy". As you can imagine there is a wide range of options that can have a very mild level of sedation to very dramatic forms. The 3 factors we evaluate in selecting which form of sedation is most appropriate center around 1) safety 2) effectiveness 3) affordability. For most patients we find that Oral Consious Sedation is very safe, extremely effective and very affordable. For your benefit is a brief outline of each of the methods and then a more comprehensive discussion of Oral Conscious sedation is presented further down.

Nitrous Oxide

Probably the most familiar and common approach used by many dentists for sedation is using nitrous oxide gas - "laughing gas". This can be administered quite simply and has a very mild sedation effect. Many patients use it to "take the edge off" and it can be effective for patients with slight anxiety. For many of our high anxiety patients (ones that delay treatment for years) seek deeper sedation for their care - nitrous oxide does not come close to what they need to be fully comfortable.

Oral Conscious Sedation

Oral Conscious Sedation (OCS) is a technique that has been used for thousands of cases for many years. It is considered incredibly safe and effective by experts. This level of sedation is far deeper than what is achieved with nitrous oxide but not fully "asleep" as is often achieved with deep sedation and general anesthesia. In this method you are kept conscious. This means that you are responsive to verbal addresses ("Mary, are you doing ok?" Slow nod. "Great."). However, you will experience a heaviness of the eyelids and a very relaxed disposition. The majority of our patients have a sense of being "asleep" but are not truly asleep as you are in deeper levels of sedation. Patients who have struggled in all of the ways listed above have received even the most intrusive forms of dentistry (extractions, root canals, implant placement) with extreme comfort and relaxation.

The vast majority of our patients also experience near complete amnesia (forgetfulness) of the experience and a complete disconnect with time. This means we can accomplish hours worth of dentistry and to the patient it seems like very little time has passed. In fact, several of our patients have told us that later in the day they had to ask a family member if they even WENT to their appointment! As you can imagine this is a very appreciated side effect!

With the experience we have administering the necessary medications, our doctors feel very competent and capable of keeping you right on "the edge" of sedation that gives the best overall level of comfort, while also keeping your health and well being in mind. If this sounds appealing in the slightest- give our office a call today and set up a free sedation consultation with our doctors to discuss how it could benefit you. Our first visit meeting can be a simple conversation about your past and your desires for the future- no poking! No instruments!

Deep Sedation and General Anesthesia

Deep sedation refers to placing a patient in a very unresponsive state. This depth of sedation usually requires the placement of an intravascular (IV) needle and close monitoring by specialized staff trained in hospital or emergency airway management techniques. This can obviously achieve a very deep level of sedation that is appropriate for some dental procedures namely major surgeries. A lot of our patients are uncomfortable with the depth of sedation and total loss of control they would have using this form of sedation. This is also a much more expensive form of sedation. We have not pursued the training to do this form of sedation due to the success we are having with Oral Conscious Sedation.

General anesthesia is the most extreme form of sedation and is very rarely used for general dental procedures. This depth of sedation is performed in a hospital setting and has significant costs and risks added to the treatment. This form of sedation would be appropriate for major reconstructive surgeries and treatment by advanced specialists.

Our Training

Our Doctors have received extensive training from multiple sources on using Oral Conscious Sedation in a safe and effective way. Most recently they have received their training from the "Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation" (DOCS). This organization has a very comprehensive approach to training dentists in Oral Conscious Sedation and has trained thousands of dentists nationwide. Their mission statement resonated well with what we were similarly looking to achieve "to make sure that every patient has access to safe, comfortable, anxiety-free dental care".

Our Experience

Our doctors have been using Oral Conscious Sedation for 20 years. Early on it was used almost exclusively for removing wisdom teeth or other surgical procedures. In the past several years we have recognized the pervasiveness of anxiety towards even minor dental procedures within our existing patient base and with new patients. We now use OCS on a weekly basis for everything from teeth cleanings to extensive treatment requiring hours of appointment time. For many patients they can have 4-6 traditional appointments consolidated into one appointment with all of the benefits described above (amnesia, a paradoxical restedness, and comfort throughout the appointment).

Our Technique

Our techniques very closely align with the safe and effective methods taught by the DOCS training program. A patient is given a thorough pre-treatment consultation where informed consent is given for the use of oral conscious sedation techniques. At this appointment we discuss how to take the medications which will give the sedating effect. We discuss what treatment will be delivered and the safety measures used throughout the appointment. We also discuss any necessary home care that will be needed after treatment.

Most patients will take sedating medications about an hour and 15 minutes prior to their appointment. Once sedation pills are taken, patients are not allowed to drive before or after their appointment. A responsible adult is expected to bring the patient, be available throughout (although they don't have to stay directly at the office), and available when the appointment is over to both escort the patient home and be with the patient for several hours thereafter.

Depending on the length of the appointment it is sometimes necessary to give additional medication throughout the appointment. Through our doctors experience and training they use monitoring equipment as well as gauge a patients comfort level to adjust the level of sedation if necessary.

Common Questions

Q: What kind of procedures can be done while under sedation?

A: Any procedure can be done under sedation. When needed patients will sometimes obtain a "deep cleaning" (if it has been many years since any dental cleanings) as well as any of the full myriad of dental procedures (simple fillings, porcelain inlays & onlays, crowns, root canals, bridges, extractions, and implants). What is especially nice about oral conscious sedation is that you can get many of these treatments done in one visit. It is not atypical to do 5 - 15 fillings, several crowns/onlays, a root canal or two if needed all in one visit!

Q: Thinking about having all of that treatment in one visit- isn't the patient exhausted, sore and in pain after treatment?

A: Surprisingly we have consistently seen the opposite effect! Although it seems like you'd be sore and tired, patients have told us over and over how relaxed and comfortable they are the day of and the day after treatment. The effect of the medication seems to have such a relaxing effect during treatment that the typical soreness and tiredness of the muscles are not an issue. We have several techniques and strategies that reduce the stresses on your muscles and joints.

Q: What if the medication doesn't work on me?

A: This is an almost universal concern of our sedation patients. Our experience and extensive use of our techniques gives us high confidence that we won't have issues with this during our treatment appointments. Of course we will never do any treatment if your comfort level isn't at the level we discussed. This has not been an issue with the many cases we have done so far. This is one reason we love this technique! When administered properly it has been very predictable and effective for the gross majority of patients. We also always have the option during an appointment to administer additional sedation medications (either nitrous oxide or additional sedation pills) to deepen our level of sedation.

Q: What about the sounds and the general discomfort of being in a dental office?

A: While we are sedated many of our senses are dulled to the point that patients have not had this be an obstacle to achieving comfort. Additionally it is common for patients to bring an MP3 player with their favorite relaxing music and listen to that while receiving care. We also have memory foam cushions and comfortable warm blankets which also contribute to your relaxation. Finally we have had several patients have a reflexologist deliver soothing care during treatment and found that to be additionally comforting. Ask us about this option in advance if you're interested.