Visiting the dentist can be a source of anxiety. Your dentist may be able to provide sedation or nitrous oxide (laughing gas) to help you feel calm.

Fortunately, with advances in dentistry, your dentist can manage the discomfort during procedures to make the experience as pain free as possible. Your dentist will usually apply a topical anaesthetic to numb the surface of your gum and then inject a local anaesthetic that works for up to 2 hours and numbs the tissue deeper within the gum. In certain circumstances your dentist may recommend the use of a sedative or general anaesthetic so you are asleep and do not remember the procedure.