College Times

Issue date: 3/12/09 Section: Blogs

"With just a pill, all your cares will melt away as we work on your mouth to make it the best it can be."

I hear this spilling out from the radio speakers as I'm getting ready for work one day last week.

I'm immediately intrigued yet a little put off, because, as the commercial told me, now some dentists are using "relaxation techniques" to calm a person's nerves while they're in the chair.

What exactly are "relaxation techniques"? And, unless a person has been neglecting their mouth's hygiene for 10 years, what has one got to be afraid of when venturing to the dentist?

The Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation says these "techniques" are to create a safe environment and a welcoming dental experience for the high-fear patients.

Pretty much they do everything except let you take a couple hits off a joint before sending you off to sit in a chair for hours to get full-blown mouth surgery, one would imagine.

While I've never had a dental experience that was anything except jolly and exuberating, I can understand why some are afraid of the person who dauntingly lurks over you with sharp, pick-axe like metal objects, all with the intention of making your gums throb. Or so they say. Needless to say, I've never had an experience quite like this.

Upon further investigation into sedation dentistry, which is what people in the business call it, I found this and this.

With a first glance, this looks like a modified and perhaps glorified bong, at least to my inexperienced eyes. And, technically, that's what it is. It's a way for dentists to get the sedation drug into your system quicker and, allegedly safer, so that they have more time to work on you.

Their tag line inside their handy dandy brochures is, "Relaxation Dentistry, a reason to dream." They also have, "Relaxation Dentistry, a vacation from the usual."

It's the dentist for Pete's sake. Are they serious?

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