Pregnancy can be filled with questions and uncertainty, especially for first-time mothers. It is often a time of great highs and lows. Your hormones are on a roller coaster ride during pregnancy. Even healthy pregnancies include physical discomforts such as constipation, mood swings, swelling and breast tenderness.

What can you expect at your doctor’s visits during pregnancy?
You will probably be weighed and have your blood pressure taken at every visit during your pregnancy. Your doctor may suggest that you take prenatal vitamins that include iron to help protect you against anemia, calcium to help keep your bones strong, and folic acid, especially early in pregnancy (and even before you get pregnant), to help prevent nerve defects (serious problems with the baby’s brain and spinal cord, often called spina bifida).

Should/can you exercise during pregnancy?
Unless you have problems in your pregnancy, you can probably do whatever exercise you did before you got pregnant. Except in special cases, mild to moderate physical activity and exercise during pregnancy is not only safe, but has been shown to be beneficial. Some women say exercising during pregnancy makes labor and delivery easier.

How can I get the best care for me and my baby before it is born?
Pregnancy is a special time in your life; good prenatal care helps ensure that you do everything possible to make it the best 9 months possible for your growing baby. Prenatal care ideally should start even before pregnancy. Prenatal care is basically taking your baby for a medical checkup before he/she is even born. These regular checkups are a chance for you and your family to learn how to manage the discomforts of pregnancy, have any testing you may need, learn warning signs, and ask any questions you may have related to your pregnancy, birth, or parenthood. Prenatal care is more than just health care; it often includes education and counseling about how to handle different aspects of pregnancy, such as nutrition and physical activity, what to expect from the birth itself, and basic skills for caring for your infant. Prenatal care has been proven over and over again to save the lives of women and their babies.

To find more information, visit our pregnancy and prenatal care section on our Baby.ConcerningAging.com website.

Author: Baby.ConcerningAging.com Staff Writer
Disclaimer: We are not medical professionals so consult your doctor before starting anything new during your pregnancy.

Are you scared of the Dentist? You are not the only one! Over one hundred million Americans have a fear of going to the dentist. One in seven people have phobias about visiting the dentist. Sedation dentistry takes the anxiety out of having dental work done. Sedation may be a safe and effective technique that helps patients be utterly relaxed and comfortable throughout their dental appointments. For some people, a simple visit to the dentist brings on panic attacks so severe that even twice yearly checkups and cleanings are virtually impossible. If you are among these people, sedation dentistry can help you overcome your fear and get the regular dental care you need.

Sedation dentistry uses a mild oral sedative or nitrous oxide to create a floaty, dream like state so that you can go through your dental appointment without any anxiety or discomfort at all. Using sedation dentistry, dental problems that have been neglected due to your fear can be easily dealt with. If you have multiple issues, such as several cavities or teeth that must be extracted, they often can all be treated in a single session, thus saving you additional, stressful trips to the dentist.

If you are terrified of visiting a dentist, or if you have trouble with pain during dental visits, you may want to consider sedation dentistry. This type of dentistry is performed on people for a variety of reasons. They are given different medication that can promote mild to deep relaxation and sleepiness during a dental visit.

Some people take a light tranquilizer like a benzodiazepine before a dentist visit, which is the mildest form of sedation dentistry. This may help calm nerves and make people more comfortable seeing a dentist. Others may need other medications that make them less conscious of any dental work being performed.

Once you have experienced sedation dentistry, you will probably never be afraid to go to the dentist again. You will be sedated just enough to be unaware of the treatment, as if you were relaxing. You will wake up refreshed, with little or no memory of what was accomplished. Because you are completely comfortable, frequently having years of dental treatments done in one or two visits.

Sedation dentistry can mean any type of sedative given by pill, elixir, intravenous, inhaled or otherwise that relaxes patients for dental procedures. Many dentists advertising on the radio or internet provide sedation with a pill called triazolam combined with nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas. This can relax patients and may reduce their memory of dental procedures. More advanced dentists, called dentist anesthesiologists, are able to use the same pill, but offer other methods of sedation in addition to just a pill. Triazolam may be all many patients need for relaxation; however more apprehensive people typically require something more. A qualified dentist anesthesiologist can use intravenous sedation or general anesthesia. The use of the intravenous allows a dentist to carefully adjust the sedation to be just right for each individual, and helps insure a more comfortable dental experience. A dentist anesthesiologist has at least one full year of formal residency training solely devoted to anesthesiology.

Is Sedation Dentistry Safe?

Sedation dentistry is safe and effective when administered by a trained professional. Conscious sedation often makes your dental visit easier both for you and your dentist. While sedated, dental problems can be corrected that might have been present for many years. This includes crowns, fillings, root canals, removal of wisdom teeth, treatment for gum disease and cosmetic dental procedures. Appointments can be as short as an hour or two or can extend to several hours, whatever is necessary to meet your individual treatment needs. Some patients have found it to be easier and more convenient to accomplish multiple dental procedures during one dental visit using conscious sedation.

There has never been a documented report of a serious adverse incident due to the use of oral conscious sedation in adults, according to the Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation. The reason is that dentists who offer conscious sedation must complete a high level of training and have plenty of experience with it. One reason for this outstanding record is that dentists monitor patients vital signs. The monitor measures blood pressure every five minutes and continuously measures pulse rate and blood oxygen before, during, and after a sedation procedure. All patients must also be accompanied by a companion to and from the dental office.

Sedation dentistry is as safe as taking a sleeping pill once in a while. The dosages used in these treatments are far below the recommended dosages of the medication. Some patients are well sedated with just the first pill, others may require additional anesthesia. Sedation dentistry dramatically reduces the bodys ability to become tense or recognize painful sensation. Therefore, the patient is free to just relax and enjoy the visit.

Is Sedation Dentistry Right for Me?

Sedation dentistry has helped millions of people just like you experience visits to the dentist while remaining relaxed, accomplish multiple treatments in a single visit, and get the care they need in the most comfortable way possible. The medications used for sedation dentistry have an amnesic effect, so you will emerge from treatment with little or no memory of the smells, sounds, or sights of your visit. With sedation dentistry, you will be surprised at how much our dentists can accomplish in a single visit while you remain relaxed and comfortable.

There are different levels of sedation, even with oral medications. With anxiolysis, the lightest level of sedation, you usually take a single dose on the day of your appointment. To attain a longer and more comfortable experience you may opt for oral conscious sedation dentistry where unique protocols will be chosen for your unique needs and medical history.

Once you are completely relaxed and comfortable, your sedation dentist will be able to work quickly and efficiently to perform larger amounts of dentistry in fewer visits. And since sedation medications have an amnesic effect, you will have very little, if any, memory of the sights, smells or sounds of your visit, making your visit feel short and sweet.

About This Article

Shakopee Dentist, is a family friendly dentist who is concerned about your dental health.