Sleep Dentistry

Real Client. Real Result. Dentistry and photography by Dental Boutique.

Introduction to Dental Fear

Dental fear affects about one in seven Australian adults, making it one of the most prevalent anxiety disorders in the country. Anxiety causes many people to avoid or delay their visit to the dentist until bigger problems such as pain and infection occur. People fail to realise that their teeth and gums are connected with other parts of the body, and issues in the mouth can have a negative long term impact on their general health. Some of the serious medical conditions that are linked to poor dental health include diabetes and heart disease as bacteria can enter the body through infected gums or other untreated dental diseases.

Most dental phobia is caused by a traumatic past dental experience. Bad dental experience may not necessary be a physical experience such as painful needle injections or bad gag reflex. It can also be a psychological experience such as the feeling of loss of control when lying in the dental chair, feeling worried of being humiliated or judged by the treating dentist or the feeling of disappointment with past dental work. Dental anxiety can be amplied by external factors such as noise from the dental equipment, and the smell of the dental clinic.

Dental Boutique is a leading dental practice that focuses on helping anxious patients overcome their anxiety. The team works in a warm, welcoming and judgement free environment as we understand how fear can take over rational behaviours. As we are experienced in treating anxious and phobic patients, we are well equipped with more advanced technologies and techniques to provide virtually pain free dentistry to our patients.

Sleep Dentistry – What is it?

Pain free dentistry is only possibly with sleep dentistry performed under General
Anaesthesia (GA). Sleep dentistry allows patients to receive dental treatment while they are “asleep”. It is ideal for people who have dental anxiety or phobia, fear of needles, have a low pain threshold, have a history of traumatic dental experiences, a strong gag reflex or those who have complex dental requirements.

This method allow patients who have been avoiding the dentists for years to have all their required dental work done in one comfortable visit, helping them to get back on track with their oral health.

Alternatives to Sleep Dentistry

Dental Boutique has heavily invested in technologies to either distract, comfort or administer anaesthesia virtually pain free.

Using Relaxation Techniques

There are a few simple relaxation techniques that you can use. The most common one is practising controlled breathing. It relaxes your body and shifts your focus to other things in order to preoccupy your mind. The simplest breathing techniques involve inhaling and exhaling through your nose to a slow count of up to three – so three seconds of breathing in, followed by three seconds breathing out.

Remember to breathe slowly, not short and fast as this can cause you to hyperventilate. Alternatively, listening to music during your appointment can help relax you and enable you to zone out. Different distraction and relaxation techniques work for each individual, so it is important to find out what works well for you. At Dental Boutique, a headset with music is given to all patients as a standard of care during dental treatment to act as a distraction.

Establish a Fail-Safe Signal with Your Dentist

By establishing a fail-safe signal with us will allow you to maintain control during the treatment. This alerts us if you’re feeling discomfort or pain or need to take a break during the appointment. The non-verbal signal can be as simple as raising your hand. You can build up trust with us by using this signal to test us and ensure that we will actually stop a procedure if you are feeling uncomfortable.

Another useful strategy is to talk to us first, determine the likely length of the treatment and have a mutual agreement of taking breaks at fixed intervals, e.g. five minutes. This method doesn’t let you suffer in silence if you’re afraid to interrupt the dentist or worry that you are disturbing them at an inconvenient moment.

Gas Inhalation

Gas inhalation can assist in relieving dental pain and anxiety. It allows patients to experience a relaxed sensation as rapidly after six-eight breaths.

It also allows patients to remain relaxed state during the procedure, however they are still in control and are able to respond to the dentists. As soon as the dental treatment is completed, the sedative effect dissipates quickly after the procedure without drowsiness and any side effects.

IV Sedation

IV sedation, also known as “intravenous sedation’, allows patients to remain conscious to still follow dentists’ instructions, however the feeling of relaxation is so intense that they are unlikely to remember much about the procedure. The action time is very rapid, and the drug dosage and level of sedation can be tailored to meet the individual’s needs.

Needleless and Pain-Free Injections Technology

Advancement in technology has allowed us to provide patients with the ideal and alternative situation for anyone who doesn’t like needles or the effects of long lasting numbness after local anaesthesia. The needleless solution is made of small, lightweight, spring-operated device that delivers anaesthetic into the gum as an extremely fine jet of liquid in a fraction of a second.

There are no needles and no part of the device that penetrates the skin, making it virtually pain free. Another technology we commonly use is a computer-controlled dental injection where the flow rate of the anaesthetic is controlled by the computer. This means that the injection is guaranteed to be steady and therefore, comfortable. It is also known as the single tooth anaesthesia, which allows only the specific tooth to be numb, reducing the sensation of facial numbness.

Regardless of what techniques you use, it is important to find the real cause of your dental phobia or anxiety, and speak to us about it. Please contact us for a virtually pain free and comfortable dental visit.

Cost of Sleep Dentistry

At Dental Boutique, we collaborate with our in-house Specialist Anesthetist.

The fees outlined below are rebatable through your private health fund and Medicare

There are 2 fee structures for Sleep Dentistry.

Length of time	Fee structure	Medicare Rebate
2 hours or less	Facility fee $650 1st hour $700 30 minute increment after $350	30% of amount up to $2000
Over 3 hours of treatment	No facility fee charged Fixed fee of $6000 This is regardless of length of time (ie. does not matter if it is 3,4,5 or 6 hours or longer)	First $2000 (30% rebate) Remaining $4000 (80% rebate) If you have reached your safety net threshold of $2000 with Medicare, the entire $6000 could be rebateable at 80%. This is determined solely by Medicare.

Once you’ve lodged your claim with Medicare, the amount will be paid into your account within 48 hours. However, please confirm this with Medicare for certainty.

Sleep Dentistry at Dental Boutique

One Location, One Team

At Dental Boutique, all your work will be completed in our facility, without the need to travel to different places or hospitals. Your procedure can be completed under General Anesthesia as we collaborate with our in-house Specialist Anesthetist.

Over 20 Years of Experience in Dentistry

Between our surgeons, there is more than 20 years of clinical dentistry experience.

Media Recognised

Featured in editorials and radio interviews as an expert opinion leader in management of dental anxiety.

Melbourne’s Leading Practice for Anxious Patients

The team at Dental Boutique thrives in a warm and caring, judgment-free environment as we understand our patients’ needs.

We have invested heavily in technologies that involve needle-less method to administer local anesthetic (yes, no needles involved!) and a computer assisted single tooth anesthesia for a precise and targeted administration of the anesthesia that makes it virtually pain-free.

We understand your fears and anxiety.