Dental anxiety is common. So is dental phobia, which is more intense — a degree of fear that keeps people from making appointments at all, sometimes for years. Both are entirely valid responses, often rooted in earlier negative experiences. Pretending the fear doesn't exist doesn't help. Setting up a practice that takes the fear seriously and gives you real options does.
At Suncoast, the sedation menu runs the full range. Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) for mild anxiety — wears off in minutes after the procedure. Oral sedation pre-medication for moderate anxiety — a pill taken before the appointment that keeps you calm in the chair. IV moderate sedation for higher anxiety or longer procedures — you're conscious but deeply relaxed and typically don't remember the procedure. And on-site general anesthesia for severe phobia or anxiety that lighter sedation can't reach — you're fully asleep, the procedure is done, you wake up afterward.
The biggest thing GA changes for severely anxious patients: we can complete an entire treatment plan in a single visit. Extractions, implant placements, restorations — all together, while you're asleep. You don't have to come back six times for things you're afraid of. The owner's words exactly: "We now offer general anesthesia and we have it set up so we can do patients' entire treatment plan in one day." Suncoast is the only practice in the area with the RCDSO-approved permit for on-site GA — delivered by an anesthesiologist from London Health Sciences Centre.
