Many people fear going to the dentist. Unfortunately, this dental phobia may cause them more harm than they realize. Seeing the dentist for biannual checkups is for more than sticking metal tools in your mouth to clean your teeth professionally. These checkups allow us to examine your overall oral health to look for the presence of gum disease and oral cancer.

Some people have avoided going to the dentist for decades due to their fear. If they have gum disease, they may have other problems since the bacteria in the mouth can get into the bloodstream. Studies have shown that artery-clogging plaque, which causes heart attacks and strokes, can get there from the mouth. That is, your overall health is directly tied to your oral health.

For these patients and others who avoid going to the dentist, the easiest answer is sedation dentistry. This allows you to undergo all of your general dental procedures after taking a sedative. You will be calm, relaxed, but still able to follow instructions. Best of all, you will experience some retrograde amnesia and be unable to recall some – or even all – of your time in the dentist’s chair.

Dr. Perlmutter uses two forms of sedation in his Bergen County office:

• Oral sedation – You will be given a pill an hour or so before your dental procedure. Oral sedation may require you to plan on another person driving you home from Dr. Perlmutter’s office
• Nitrous oxide – You may know this as “laughing gas.” It is administered through a mask fitted over your nose, and wears off quickly once your procedure is completed

If you suffer from dental phobia, and have avoided going to the dentist because of this fear, please contact Dumont Cosmetic Dental. We serve the Bergen County, New Jersey area.