Sedation DentistrySmart Start Dental 
Sedation Dentistry Oakland & Pinole, CA
If you’re anxious… Smart Start Dental can help!
We recognize that when it comes to dental procedures, some of the most terrible things aren’t going on inside your mouth—but inside your head.
Fear of the dentist’s chair is both normal and understandable. You may be among the 150 million Americans who avoid the dentist altogether. But, truly, it doesn’t have to be that way. So much dental fear is based on false information. Well-meaning friends pass along unsettling stories about procedures—from ages ago! When it comes to truly pain-free dentistry, we’ve made greater strides in just the past few decades than in the entire history of dentistry!
Our entire team is committed to combating the dental fears that come to so many patients. You’re not alone! And we have so many ways of making your experience a positive one.
Dental fears are manageable and preventable.
We work to form good relationships with fearful patients. It’s as important to us as the procedure itself. Please, discuss your apprehensions and anxieties with us beforehand. We’ll listen to your concerns and agree on things that allow you a sense of control.
If you’re extremely fearful, we can offer temporary sedation via “laughing gas” (nitrous oxide), during your
appointment. It’s one of the safest ways available to keep you serene in the chair. Best of all, you’re awake—normal—once the gas is shut off. You can even drive yourself home from the appointment!
All General Anesthesia is provided by our in-house Anesthesiologist Michael Mellenthin, MD. I routinely take care of children in the pediatric dental office as young as 18 months old and all ages above. I have extensive experience with children of all ages, many with behavioral as well as physical disabilities. I spend time talking with parents their children to make sure the office setting will be a safe and appropriate place to provide anesthesia for him or her.
Almost always, having dental surgery in an office setting (instead of a hospital) can be less stressful for children and parents for the following reasons:
- Smaller more comfortable environment: children come to an office with which they are familiar, with toys and friendly faces they know.
- “No shots, no needles”: most children, who fear the dentist, do so because they anticipate receiving an injection. I like to dispel this fear from the start. Almost all children would much rather breathe anesthesia gas through a mask than receive a shot.
- Optimal surgical conditions: when children are asleep and immobile, the dentist can focus on the treatment without being distracted by patient anxiety, discomfort, and/or movement.
I carry with me a tremendous amount of equipment including monitors, an anesthesia machine, breathing equipment and supplies, medications, and a defibrillator. I have the same type of equipment and supplies that I would have in a hospital operating room. Anesthesiologists routinely manage the unconscious patient, making sure that their breathing and other physiologic functions are maintained within normal limits during anesthesia. I am monitoring the patient’s level of anesthesia and vital signs at all times throughout the anesthetic course and dental treatment, never leaving the child at any time.
