Phobic Patients:
Oral Conscious Sedation May Not Be Enough
By now you are familiar with our focus on dentistry for patients with special needs (those who cannot physically, mentally or behaviorally cooperate with dentistry) and we thank you for your referrals over the years. Working together, we provide a safety net for these at-risk patients. But what the patients who don’t return to dental offices simply because they are afraid?
Many dentists have success utilizing Oral Conscious Sedation (OCS) for patients with mild dental anxiety or fear. However, there are patients for whom OCS is not sufficient, primarily those with severe phobias who want to be asleep for treatment. Different from mildly anxious patients, phobics:
cannot be soothed or coaxed into receiving care,
go to a dentist only as a last resort or when prompted by an emergency,
make multiple appointments but rarely keep them,
are not well treated with nitrous oxide or oral medications, and/or
unconsciously mask their fear by exhibiting anger towards the dental team.
At the Blende Dental Group, we don’t ask people to overcome their fears. Our office utilizes IV sedation or general anesthesia (delivered by a physician anesthesiologist) to enable them to sleep through dental treatment, and condenses extensive treatment with all dental specialists into one comprehensive visit so that patients don’t have to “get up their nerve” for multiple appointments.
When you partner with us, the patient remains in your control. We will work with you to develop a treatment plan, and return the patient to you for follow-up and routine care as you desire. If you know of anyone who is too afraid to even set foot in a dental office, our House Call Dentists division can make a house call to their home within a 60 mile radius of San Francisco.
Due to her severe dental phobia and complex medical history, Mindy traveled from Florida to receive her dental care while asleep. Read more about her story here.
House Call Dentists Visit:
- Private homes
- Assisted living communities
- Skilled nursing facilities
- Alzheimer’s / memory care centers
- Residential care homes
- Adult day care facilities
- Special needs schools and day programs
- Patients in the hospital
- Homebound with special needs or medical complications