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James A. Snyder, DDS, MS
Dental Sedation and Anesthesia Alexandria
Imagine a Completely Comfortable Dental Experience...
At last, going to the dentist can be free of pain and anxiety for anyone.
Find out what you, your doctor, and even many dentists may not know about how dental sedation/anesthesia can make even complex treatments amazingly comfortable and easy. Sedation/anesthesia is even available to patients with special needs.
If you or someone you love has avoided getting dental care because of anxiety, fear of pain, or because of special medical problems or handicaps, help is available. Contact Dr. James Snyder and the Center for Dental Anesthesiology to find out more about how dental sedation and dental anesthesia can help our patients from Alexandria, Washington, D.C., Arlington, Virginia, and surrounding communities.
Avoiding Dental Care Creates Serious Risks
You should know that 4 out of 5 people who have neglected their dental care suffer from a "silent" disorder, gum disease, that can result in tooth loss and can contribute to heart disease and other major illnesses. With dental sedation and dental anesthesia you don’t have to avoid dental care anymore.
The Truth about Fear-Free and Pain-Free Dentistry
You don't have to be at risk. Truly comfortable, anxiety-free dental care is available through the use of dental sedation or anesthesia. You can actually sleep through your dental work just as you would sleep through having your tonsils or appendix taken out. But the safe administration of dental sedation or anesthesia in the dental office requires that the office be properly equipped and the dentist and the staff be properly trained. The Center for Dental Anesthesiology is just that. We serve patients in Alexandria, Washington, D.C., Arlington, Virginia, and surrounding communities.
"Sedation Dentistry" vs. Dental Anesthesia
Recently many dentists have begun to advertise "sedation dentistry," or dental sedation. This has come about because dental marketing companies (and drug companies?) have devised 3-4 day courses to teach dentists to use simple anesthesia regimens of 1 or 2 drugs to make people sleepy. They call this "sedation dentistry." In the medical world "sedation" is being calm and sleepy and is at one end of a continuum that ranges all the way up to "general anesthesia." General anesthesia means being completely unaware and deeply asleep. Many factors about the patient, the problem being treated, and the procedure being done influence what level of dental sedation or anesthesia should be used. That's why anesthesia is a specialty area in medicine. You know that when you have a medical or surgical procedure done under anesthesia in a doctor's office, surgery center, or hospital, a specially trained doctor administers the anesthesia while your doctor performs the procedure. This is because simple familiarity with a small number of medications is not adequate for a doctor to make good choices from among the multitude of options and to administer the chosen drugs safely. Nor is it safe for the same person to try to monitor your responses to the drugs while also trying to perform the procedure. Yet, many dentists do this every day.
Guidelines for Safe Dental Anesthesia Care
The Society for Office-Based Anesthesia (SOBA), an organization of doctors, dentists, and certified nurse anesthetists dedicated to promoting safe anesthesia care in the office setting has provided pertinent guidelines:
- The dentist must be fully trained in anesthesia and have extensive experience
- One doctor must provide the sedation/anesthesia and another doctor perform the dental procedures
- The staff must be properly trained in their roles
- The proper equipment and supplies must be on hand
- The dental office must be properly organized and set up
- Appropriate procedures must have been established.
At the Center for Dental Anesthesiology our facility nd our staff meet or exceed all these requirements.
Contact Us
The good news is that the same kind of anesthesia services used in medical procedures is available for dental care in Northern Virginia. In the United States, there are only 300 fully-anesthesia-trained dentists. Fortunately, one of them, Dr. James Snyder, is right here in Alexandria. Along with his associates, Dr. Seema Ahmed, Dr. Dennis Ahl, and Dr. Nadgie Ortiz. Dr. Snyder is pleased to provide a safe and comfortable dental experience. Please contact our office to schedule an appointment.