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Sedation Dentistry

Dental fears are more common than you might think. Even mild anxiety may be enough to keep you from getting the care you need.

Experts estimate that about 15% of Americans experience dental fear to the point where they completely avoid seeing the dentist. As time passes, plaque and tartar build on their teeth, gum disease sets in, and cavities start. Unfortunately, what finally drives them to see a dentist is a painful condition requiring extensive treatment, reinforcing their fear and creating a vicious cycle.

We think it’s time to break that cycle.

As a patient at our Sugar Land dental office, you will receive gentle dental care in a comfortable and welcoming environment from a friendly and compassionate dentist, and you can also take advantage of our skill in sedation dentistry.

What Is Sedation Dentistry?

Sedation dentistry is the use of medication to provide a calm and relaxed feeling and reduce the sensations associated with dental care.

We practice safe and effective sedation dentistry and can offer nitrous oxide (laughing gas) or even “sleep” sedation to help you relax and get the care you need.

Nitrous Oxide

Many of our patients are familiar with nitrous oxide and know it as “laughing gas.” While nitrous oxide won’t necessarily make you laugh, it does produce a calm sensation throughout the body and can sometimes create a feeling of euphoria. Uncomfortable sensations are diminished, and your appointment becomes a relaxing and even enjoyable experience.

One of the biggest benefits of nitrous oxide is that the dose can be easily modified as needed to produce the desired effect. Additionally, the onset is fast and the effect only lasts as long as you are breathing the gas. As soon as we remove the mask and you take a couple of nice deep breaths, the effect is gone and you are able to continue on with the rest of your day.

Oral Conscious Sedation

If you need more help relaxing than nitrous oxide can provide, let us know and we can discuss oral conscious sedation.

With this type of sedation dentistry, you will be given a prescription for a medication you take by mouth that will relax you and relieve your anxiety. You’ll take the medication about a half an hour before your procedure so that the medication is in full effect throughout your treatment.

Despite the name “sleep” dentistry, most patients remain awake and alert throughout the procedure but in a deep state of relaxation. Some patients do become so relaxed that they fall asleep, but you will remain conscious and easy to rouse. The appointment itself will seem to fly by, and you are unlikely to remember any of the details later – especially the sensations of the dental office, which can be very upsetting for some people.

If you choose oral conscious sedation, you will need to have a friend or family member drive you to and from the office since it is not safe to drive while taking this medication.

For more information about sedation or “sleep” dentistry and to find out if this option is right for you, please call our office today to schedule a consultation with Dr. Reagan Grizzle.

Frequently Asked Questions

My teeth hurt, but I'm scared to go to the dentist. What should I do?

Dental fear and anxiety is common and experts estimate that it keeps about 15% of all Americans from getting the dental care they need. Patients have dental anxiety for a number of different reasons from a negative experience to unexplained fear. Whatever your reason of being afraid, we are here to help.

Everyone deserves to have a healthy and attractive smile, and we will work with you to make sure you can get the care you deserve, too. Our compassionate and gentle team is highly skilled with helping patients who are nervous and afraid. We realize that even calling to schedule an appointment is a big step for many of our patients.

Putting off your dental care could increase the expense and complexity of treatment. By calling now, you may help to take care of some of your problems before they progress. Waiting too long may put you into an emergency situation, which is less than ideal for high fear patients.

Call us today to set up a consultation with Dr. Grizzle to discuss the possibility of sedation dentistry. This process uses medication to reduce your anxiety and diminish sensation. We can talk about what specifically makes you nervous about dental care and find a solution that will work for you.

Can anyone have conscious sedation dentistry?

Approximately half of the population has some anxiety about the dentist. Our team is highly skilled in making even the most timid patients feel comfortable and relaxed for their appointments. We offer kind and compassionate care in a warm and welcoming environment. Our patients love how they feel when they are with us.

Sometimes our individualized care is enough to put patients at ease, but sometimes patients need help to feel comfortable. At Dr. Reagan Grizzle’s office, we offer oral sedation for the comfort of our patients.

Sedation is completely safe for most healthy people. However, because medications are involved, we will do a complete medical history prior to sedation to make sure it is safe for you. If you are pregnant, on certain medications, or suffer from certain conditions, we may need to come up with an alternate plan for your appointment.

Sedation utilizes medication instead of an IV to help patients relax. It is not as drastic as IV sedation, but you will still need someone to drive you to your appointment and drive you home because you will be groggy after your appointment.

Sedation is a safe and reliable method to reduce anxiety and increase comfort. Most patients report being completely relaxed and having little to no memory of their treatment.

How can sedation dentistry help my dental phobia?

When you come to our dental office, we want to help you to feel completely comfortable. We know that many of our patients have a fear of the dentist and they may not even be sure why, but just the idea of visiting a dental office creates anxiety.

Sedation dentistry helps in a couple of ways. First, the medication we use for sedation dentistry makes you feel completely relaxed. Most patients have no memory of their procedure. We still numb you just like usual so you don’t feel a thing and the medication takes the edge off your anxiety.

Secondly, your awareness of the sights, sounds, and smells of the dental office will be dulled. Things that bothered you before like the sound of the suction or the smells of the materials we use will not be an issue when you are sedated. Sensory triggers increase anxiety and sedation helps to dull those senses.

Our goal is to provide you with outstanding care and Dr. Reagan Grizzle is able to perform his job more effectively if you feel good about your appointment. If you ever considered sedation dentistry to ease your anxiety, please ask us about it. We would rather have your dental experience be a positive one.

I have trouble getting numb. Can you help?

Dr. Reagan Grizzle is sympathetic to your condition and will never proceed with dental work if you are uncomfortable, but we also know dentistry may be necessary from time to time.

Did you know that anxiety could prevent you from getting numb? Because anxiety causes a rush of adrenaline and stress hormones, the medications we use do not have the same effect as they would on a patient who feels completely relaxed.

Whether your anxiety comes from being at the dentist or because you know you have trouble getting numb, we can help. At our Sugar Land, TX dental office, we offer sedation dentistry to our patients in order to help them get numb and stay numb.

Because sedation relaxes you completely, our numbing medication has the opportunity to work effectively. You will not be worried about your procedure and we can proceed with a comfortable, pain-free, and anxiety-free dental visit.

We can use nitrous oxide or a stronger medication, if nitrous is not enough to make you feel relaxed and at peace about your appointment. Our compassionate team will work with Dr. Grizzle to find a solution that suits your needs so you can have the dentistry necessary to restore your health.

What is sedation dentistry?

At our Sugar Land dental office, Dr. Reagan Grizzle decided to offer sedation dentistry when he realized how many of our patients had a fear of the dentist. Nearly half of all Americans admit to having some type of dental phobia or anxiety and probably many more that never admit it at all.

Sedation dentistry utilizes medication to help patients relax during dental procedures. The medication may come in the form of an inhalant like nitrous oxide (also known as laughing gas) or a stronger pill form of a medication to help you relax completely.

Both have their benefits. Nitrous oxide is convenient and wears off quickly once we cease administering it. You do not need to worry about driving after your appointment because by the time you leave, the nitrous oxide will be out of your system.

Oral conscious sedation is highly effective in treating people with a moderate to severe dental phobia. Oral conscious sedation comes in pill form and while it relaxes you completely, you cannot drive after we administer it, so you will need someone to bring you to your dental appointment and take you home.

Oral conscious sedation limits your awareness to your surroundings, but still allows us to speak to you and you can answer questions.

Meet Our Doctor:

Dr. Reagan Grizzle DDS

After graduating magna cum laude from the University of Houston with a Bachelors of Science in Biology, Dr. Reagan Grizzle went on to attend the University of Texas Dental School and graduated with honors in 1980.

Following graduation, Dr. Grizzle taught as a part-time assistant professor at his alma mater for five years. During this time, he also started his Sugar Land dental practice, opening his doors for the first time in 1982. He is a member of the American Dental Association and the Texas ...