Help with anxiety
We have various new systems that can make your dental treatment as comfortable and relaxing as possible, including the use of inhalation sedation, also known as gas and air. Please ask your dentist for more information if this is something you feel you could benefit from.
We can also advise on various relaxation techniques to enable you to feel as comfortable as possible whilst undergoing treatment, as well as prescribe anti-anxiety medication to be taken directly before your appointment.
Contact us and speak to a member of the team, or book online when you are ready.
About sedation
At Argo we are pleased to offer ‘gas and air’ sedation. This involves breathing a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen through a mask on your nose, to help you feel relaxed during your dental treatment. To read more about this option click here.
About local anaesthetic
Local anaesthesia numbs one specific area, so you stay fully conscious and aware throughout treatment but feel no pain in the part being worked on. Most dental procedures are carried out this way.
How we keep it comfortable
We apply a numbing gel first, so most people do not feel the injection itself. Once that has taken effect the anaesthetic is given slowly, which is what makes the difference for nervous patients more than anything else.
Any sensation at that point usually comes from the fluid moving into the tissues rather than from the needle.
Two kinds of injection
A block injection numbs a whole section of the mouth, for example the left side of the upper jaw. An infiltration injection numbs a smaller, more specific area.
Which we use depends on the treatment. The strength and duration can both be adjusted to suit what is being done.
I have had a bad experience before
Tell us. There are techniques and delivery systems that make this considerably easier, and we would far rather adjust what we do than have you dread coming in. Nobody here will make you feel awkward about it, and even some of our own dentists are nervous patients themselves.
Common questions
Often several hours, so you may well leave the practice still numb. Take care not to bite the area while you cannot feel it, and be cautious with hot drinks until sensation returns.
Alongside the numbing drug there is usually a vasoconstrictor, which narrows the blood vessels so the numbness lasts longer, plus small amounts of other components that stabilise the solution and help the drug work. Many dentists use lidocaine; there are several alternatives.
For most people, nothing beyond temporary difficulty eating, drinking and speaking while the numbness wears off.
Less commonly, people report dizziness, blurred vision, headache or nausea. These can be mistaken for an allergic reaction, but are a natural response to the adrenaline contained in the anaesthetic. Bruising can occur where the injection was given. Tell us about any previous experiences with a local anaesthetic.
