If the thought of visiting the dentist’s office makes you apprehensive, sedation dentistry can be incredibly useful in helping you to relax. Sedatives can quell anxiety, suppress physical responses, and make longer procedures much easier to sit through.
However, if you aren’t sure whether those sedatives will fit your budget, that may add more unnecessary anxiety to the procedure. If you want to know more about what budgeting for sedation dentistry entails, here’s some information you may find useful.
What Kinds of Sedation are Available?
Obviously, the cost of the sedation has a lot to do with the style of sedative that you’re using. There are several available, and which one is right for you depends on the strength of what you’re looking for. Nitrous oxide sedation is the most mild, and the dosage of it is easily adjustable.
Then there’s oral conscious sedation, which comes in the form of a pill. You will take this pill at a time so that you feel the effect most when you get to the dentist’s office. In general, oral conscious sedation is stronger than nitrous oxide, making it better for patients with severe dental anxiety.
What Does Sedation Cost?
You would need to talk to your dentist to get an exact quote for what the cost of sedation will be. This will also give them an opportunity to talk to you about which style of sedation is best for you, and what kinds of financing services could make the treatments more affordable for you.
That said, there are some general rules that you may want to keep in mind. Typically, stronger sedatives are more expensive due to the expertise involved in safely administering them. For example, you should probably expect oral conscious sedation to cost more than nitrous oxide.
Nitrous oxide is also priced out by the hour, usually costing around $200-300. Oral sedation may cost more but has the benefit of not being tied to the time of the procedure (except indirectly, as a longer treatment may necessitate a higher dosage). Again, your sedation dentist will be happy to give you a sense of their rates, especially if you tell them a little bit about your situation.
About Our Practice
At Mauck and Ricci, DDS, we have perfected the skill of balancing high-quality dental care with complete and total comfort. We do this by paying close attention to what every individual patient needs, ensuring that every part of treatment is custom-fit to them. We are well aware that many people aren’t the biggest fans of the dentist’s office, but through a combination of sedation and chairside manner we can relax you completely until the duration of your stay with us.
If you have any questions about sedation dentistry, we can be reached at our website or by phone at (303) 745-1400.