You know about the importance of regular dental visits, but if a dental phobia is keeping you from enjoying good oral health, it’s time to talk to Bellingham sedation dentist Dr. Eric Yaremko and staff.
Sedation dentistry is the perfect choice for those who experience a little, to an overwhelming dental anxiety because, with a range of options, you’ll be completely relaxed and comfortable throughout your next dental appointment.
Don’t let your fear of the dentist stand in the way of your dental health. At the Bellingham dental office of sedation dentist Eric Yaremko DMD we believe that everyone deserves a bright, clean, healthy mouth and creation of a natural-looking smile without worrying about the potential stress of dental procedures.
We understand the needs of people who fear the dentist and can help you to feel at ease while you receive the dental treatment option that we’ve worked together to chose.
First, we listen to your concerns. We then discuss different methods for making you as comfortable as possible. Together, we lay out a treatment plan that will meet your needs. We have several options for getting your mouth fixed and being relaxed while we do it:
Most of our patients never know they have received an injection. That’s because of Dr. Yaremko’s gentle and caring injection technique. A topical anesthetic is applied to the tissue with a swab. This anesthetic painlessly numbs the spot where the doctor will give you one of the most gentle injections. Your comfort will be monitored by hand signals by you during the anesthetic administration. You can stop the procedure if you feel that you are uncomfortable for any reason.
Injectable anesthetics, such as Lidocaine, prevent pain in a specific area of your mouth during treatment by blocking the nerves that sense or transmit pain and numbing mouth tissues. Bellingham sedation dentist Dr. Eric Yaremko also has special syringes and specific nerve block techniques to anesthetize areas where some people have had a previous history of having problems getting numb.
Dr. Yaremko and staff can work with you to teach you relaxation techniques, such as forms of self-hypnosis to make your dental appointments more comfortable.
You can listen to music on wireless headphones, use the massage pad on the chairs, or watch a movie on an overhead LCD TV. Dr. Yaremko’s patients often find having something else to focus on quite relaxing.
Many of Dr. Yaremko’s patients choose to use this relaxing gas breathed in through a nasal mask. Patients do not need an escort to and from appointments when using this method of sedation.
A number of Dr. Yaremko’s patients are prescribed valium to take prior to their appointments. This is even more relaxing than the nitrous oxide, however an escort is required and a day off of work. Another form of oral/pill sedation is to take a sequence of small pills while being carefully monitored, in the office. These pills will make you very relaxed (from snoozing to asleep).
Some of Dr. Yaremko’s patients have chosen to have intravenous sedation for anxiety control during dental appointments. Patients arrive mildly sedated from a pill taken at home. Bellingham, WA sedation dentist Dr. Eric Yaremko will start an intravenous line and administer sedating medications to keep patients comfortable for their dental procedure. Patients who are very anxious or have found that they were resistant to oral sedatives in the past are able to be treated comfortably with IV sedation.
For patients who feel that they cannot tolerate dental procedures while they are awake at all (even sedated) or for patients with developmental delay Dr. Yaremko and staff have worked with in office anesthesiologists. Patients who have a stable medical history are candidates. Similar to a procedure at the hospital the anesthesiologist will put the patient in a state of general anesthesia (asleep/unconscious) for the procedure. Bellingham sedation dentist Dr. Eric Yaremko will do the dental procedures while the anesthesiologist keeps the patient asleep and monitors their safety.
We want you to be as comfortable as possible after your care. For simple procedures we make recommendations for over the counter medications. For more involved procedures a narcotic analgesic may be prescribed for your comfort. We make every effort to control post-operative discomfort.
For a printed copy of Dr. Yaremko’s booklet “The Eight Ways to Deal with Dental Fears” please call the practice at (360) 734-6620.