Boston Cosmetic Dentist Helaine Smith Now Offers Advanced "Pain-Free" Dentistry

95 million North Americans avoid the dentist due to fear; Sedation Dentistry, or "Pain-Free Dentistry," offers patients a relaxed and enjoyable experience.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) February 7, 2006 –

February 7, 2006 – Boston cosmetic dentist Helaine Smith (http://www. helainesmithdmd. com (http://www. helainesmithdmd. com)) has announced she recently received her sedation dentistry credential and is now offering patients advanced sedation dentistry techniques. Dr. Smith received her credential from the Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation (DOCS).

According to DOCS, 95 million North Americans avoid the dentist because of fear. The goal of sedation dentistry is to offer these patients a relaxing and enjoyable experience through various sedation protocols. These protocols include determining whether sedation is appropriate for the patient, properly administering anxiety-lowering drugs such as Valium or Triazolam, and providing maximum safety for both patient and the dentist.

"I consult with patients regularly who are afraid to visit the dentist," stated Dr. Smith. "Often times, these people have low-level anxiety and require only meditation, a simple numbing gel applied to the gums, or a local anesthetic, such as Septocaine, to help them to relax. Other patients, however, have such high anxiety that they have neglected their oral health care for years. These patients often require extensive dental work – yet due to their anxiety, they delay having the work done. This is where advanced sedation techniques come into play.

"Until recently, patient anxiety wasn’t recognized as a real problem among dentists," Dr. Smith added. "Of course, we’ve always had ‘Novocain,’ – a local anesthetic developed in the 1920s – for invasive and painful procedures. However, for many patients, even Novocain isn’t enough. In fact, I recently received an email from a prospective patient who said she was ‘terrified’ to visit a dentist and hadn’t seen one in ten years. It’s for these people that I obtained my sedation dentistry credential. No one should be afraid to visit the dentist."

About Helaine Smith, DMD

Helaine Smith is a full-time practicing cosmetic dentist located in Boston, Massachusetts and a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and Academy of General Dentistry. She is one of two Boston cosmetic dentists to have received extensive training at the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies (http://www. lvidocs. com (http://www. lvidocs. com)) where she recently completed a full-mouth reconstruction course that only 2 percent of U. S. dentists have taken. Dr. Smith is an active member of Operation Smile and Cape CARES, two groups that send volunteer dentists and physicians all over the world. She has been part of eleven volunteer missions to third world countries working with children with cleft lip and palate as well as with people from remote mountain villages in numerous Latin American countries. More about Dr. Smith and her practice can be found at http://www. helainesmithdmd. com (http://www. helainesmithdmd. com).

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