Sleep Dentistry

Custom-designed to provide comfortable and safe dental experiences for our patients, Lidums Dental utilise advanced techniques to make treatments as comfortable as possible

At Lidums Dental we understand that many Australians battle with dental phobia, anxiety and fear, and have incorporated dental anxiety reduction methods in our Adelaide practice to help our patients gain the dental care they need without the negative connotations often associated with dental treatment. In fact, a lot of time is spent training our Team to specifically manage our patient’s dental anxiety rather than avoiding these discussions. We embrace our patients fears, concerns and anxieties so we can truly support their situation and help them overcome and move forward into becoming more brave and getting the dental treatment they really want. On a personal note, this gives our Team so much satisfaction as our patients open up about their previous dental history, experiences and anxieties and come to trust us. We find that often once this has been addressed and acknowledged, patients can then put their anxiety aside and be in a better ‘Head space’ to discuss their dental concerns with Dr Lidums or the Team and hear what treatment options are available to them. Watching our patients overcome their fears, anxieties and bad experiences is so awesome for us!

Skills practice with the Team

Anxiety Reduction With Sleep Dentistry

For shorter appointments and lighter treatments, we can manage dental anxiety with sedative medication such as Valium. This is great for longer appointments or for patients who have a little dental anxiety and want to relax a little more during their dental procedure. Many of our patients who thought they would need to be ‘totally knocked out’ (General Anaesthesia) for any dental treatment have actually tried this method first and were so amazed and delighted in themselves that they continued to have dental treatment this way and develop more confidence along the way. It really does give Dr Lidums a lot of pleasure when he sees patients becoming more brave and overcoming their dental anxiety, not to mention pride in the Lidums Team in being able to support our patients so well through their individual journeys.

IV Sedation and General Anaesthetic

For more complex or lengthy procedures or where patients do not wish to be aware of treatment being performed, we are able to use IV sedation or General Anaesthesia (GA) (also known as ‘Twilight Dentistry or ‘Sleep Dentistry’). Our own Day-Stay Surgical Suite provides a safe environment and all Sedations are administered by our experienced Anaesthetists familiar with our treatment and processes to get the best and fastest recovery and outcomes for our patients. Having a General Anaesthetic can be quite taxing on the body due to the medications used during this procedure. Our Anaesthetists have developed ways to minimise this impact and get faster recovery times. Some patients are up and about within 1 hour. This is great, as it means they feel better faster and have less nausea and drowsiness.