The fear of dentist is a real phenomenon that affects a large number of people in Romania, for which they reach the dental office when complex or emergencies occur.
The fear of dentist persists, despite the promises of “pain -free” treatment
Thus, 2 out of 10 Romanians prefer to be sedated during dental treatments, and the number of patients resorting to this method has increased by 50% in recent years, the data of one of the largest profile clinics show.
“Most patients, around 70%, who reach us for the first time, have a fear of dental equipment, needles and mills in general, but not such an acute fear. In addition, they relax once they talk to the doctor and notice that there is no pain. But around 20% of patients suffer from severe anxiety against visits to the dentist, which causes them to opt for deep sedation in order not to consciously assist the entire procedure.
But the number of patients with intense fear of the dentist and extremely complex problems increases from year to year. For many Romanians, the visit to the dentist remained a nightmare because of the traumatic experiences of the 1990s, when the dental offices were often outdated, unfriendly and devoid of modern technologies. For this reason, many patients have avoided dental treatments for years, 20 or even 30 years in some cases, having to have very complicated dental problems or to lose their teeth. For many Romanians, visits to the dentist from childhood or adolescence were traumatic experiences, who created a deep fear of needles, mills and even dentist. But modern dentistry has completely eliminated pain through advanced techniques and effective anesthesia, and dental offices are increasingly modern, with facilities to relax patients ”, He told “Adevărul” Dr. Sorina Blaj, the founder of some dental clinics.
Sedation, used by adults, and children
Adults who prefer deep sedation are approximately in the same proportion of women and men, are between 30 and 70 years old, and reach the dentist predominantly in an emergency, with complex problems. The interventions in their case, which can take more than an hour, are usually more complicated procedures such as dental implant, extractions, caries and prosthetic works of complete rehabilitation. Some of the adults who choose to be sedated have a vomiting reflex during the procedures, which prevents dental problems, and some of them are disabled.
In the case of children, the deep sedation is very requested, at the request of the parents, because they have a dentist or have a vomiting reflex, a very young age, because they are agitated and prevent the procedures or are children with special needs.
“Unfortunately, there are many patients with severe dental problems who have not been to the dentist of 20-30 or children who have no other dental treatment due to very early age or fear. Most of the time, adults directly reach complex treatments such as multiple extractions, dental implants or total rehabilitation and children reach the restoration of the entire oral cavity in 2-3 hours. Deep sedation gives them the opportunity to go through these treatments without fear and without unpleasant memories”, Said Sorina Blaj.
What does the sedation for dental interventions entail
Deep sedation helps to relax the patient during a dental procedure. The anesthesiologist specialist may administer an anti-anxiety or sedative agent in combination with a local pain anesthetic.
During the procedure, the patient remains calm, semi-conscious, is monitored with special equipment in the presence of a specialist doctor and a specialized team. The sedations are made intravenously and its effect disappears 20 minutes from the completion of the intervention.
However, specialists recommend Romanians to pay more attention to the prevention and regular visits to the dentist to treat problems and save teeth in time. Today’s technology allows pain -free, fast and minimally invasive treatments. In addition, by prevention, expenses in the dentist can be up to 7 times lower than those with dental implants or in advanced phases of deterioration.
