The article continues to explain what the sedation dentistry experience is like. It calls it “Awake but relaxed.” Which is an ideal state while getting dental work done. “To put patients in a state of conscious sedation, dentists administer incremental doses of benzodiazepines. The drugs put patients in a sleeplike state while actually keeping them awake.”
“While they're sedated, patients are extremely relaxed and unaware of the pain associated with the dental procedure. But they aren't knocked out as with general anesthesia. Though they likely won't remember doing it, they are able to respond to the dentist and answer questions.”
Mattox’s story is like millions of Americans who, for many years, have put off getting the dental care they need. According to a Survey by the American Dental Association, over 100 million Americans have some form of fear and anxiety about going to the dentist. “Mattox said that before she discovered conscious sedation, she hadn't been to a dentist in 15 to 20 years and had had her teeth cleaned only twice. She said she has been scared of the dentist since she was a child.”
