  Edward Leventhal, DDS
        Oral Sedation
     8860 Belair Road
   Baltimore, MD 21236
       (410) 256-7300

Cosmetic Implant and Orthodontic Sedations

Comfortable Relaxed Dentistry

Common Anxiety Management

Most dentists and most patients have a basic understanding of common anxieties that we all encounter or at least think about at one time or other while getting ready for dental treatments.

Medications for routine management of pain perception have been around nearly forever. Novacaine, is probably the most popular. Medications also exist and are routinely used for (e.g., nitrous oxide) helping patients manage the fear of pain perception, which can be more anxiety producing than the pain itself.

In our offices, our dentists focus on the comfort level desired by patients. Since people have different definitions of what makes them anxious or uneasy and what they consider to be the perfect comfort zone, the dentist uses different combinations of technologies, topical solutions and oral medications to create the treatment experience wanted by each patient.

Common Anxiety Causing Aversions

There are numerous cosmetic and reconstructive procedures provided to our patients that can be coupled with almost any degree of sedated experience while undergoing treatment. Examples of treatments that typically create feelings of slight apprehensiveness to extreme white-kuckle-arm rest-gripping anxiety are listed below:

Arriving for an Appointment (not uncommon for some)
Dental Sounds
Dental Smells and Odors
Routine Dental Exams
Xrays
Teeth Cleaning
In Office Whitening Procedures
Probing with an explorer instrument
Cavity Detection
Routine Fillings
Dental Bonding
Bite Occlusal Adjustment
Impressions for stone models, whitening trays, temporaries (gag reflex)
Tooth Polishing (vibration factors)
Bridgework
Replacing Amalgam Fillings with Porcelain Onlays/Inlays
Crown Replacement
Re-cementation of bridgework - crowns

Extended Appointments - Time Collapse Dentistry

Patients with active careers or lifestyles who have difficulty "finding the time" to undergo either routine dental care or treatments that require several sessions particularly like certain advantages of sedated treatments.

Business entrepreneurs or busy self employed patients enjoy the opportunities of having special appointment sessions set up by our doctors that can, in many cases, complete all needed treatments in only one, uninterupted visit.

Oral sedation has the magical effect of collapsing the time dimension of treatment. With proper levels of monitored sedation.... 4 or 5 treatment sessions can seem like 15 minutes. Naturally, there are additional benefits of experiencing minimal discomfort and effortless anxiety management.

Patients who have experienced muscular discomforts with certain types of treatment (root canals, multiple fillings, posterior restorations) can usually expect the absence of these post-treatment discomforts. Sedation medications, for many patients, produce a level of muscle relaxation that can eliminate common discomforts associated with long appointments.

All patients have the opportunity to combine multiple treatment sessions in time blocks of up to 5 to 6 hours, depending on treatments needed or types of restorative products are being used.

Have a question about dental sedation that is not listed here? Contact Dr. Leventhal directly with our on-line Ask The Dentist form .... Dr. Leventhal will reply to you personally.

Call us today at (410) 256-7300 or use our on-line Consult Request form to arrange a complimentary examination to learn more about our cosmetic and reconstructive dental services.