Dental Fear for the Patient---WOW!!

Recently I worked on a patient who had neglected his teeth for over 20 years because of his fear of dental procedures.  This fear is not something to joke about—it is real for the patient that experiences it.  After sedation consultation, the patient agreed to have oral sedation performed with nitrous oxide, as well.  It went smooth and after two visits, the patient’s mouth was restored.  I just ran into the patient at his local business and he told me how grateful he was for finally having the needed procedures performed.  Over time I am hopeful he will not need the sedation because he will have confidence in the dental profession once again.  In the meantime, it has been a great privilege to be able to perform dental procedures on patients, who in the past have been so frightened, that they did not even see a Dentist until they “had to” because of an extreme emergency!