Westpark Helpful Dental Articles

Dr. Michael Gallagher Keeps Patients Comfortable in his Cleveland Dental Office

At West Park Dental we have many ways to keep patients comfortable during procedures.

• 1. The view from patient chairs is outstanding. Bird feeders have been placed in front of each window and there are gently draping trees cascading over the plants and landscaping. Patients comment on how great it is to watch the birds compared to a dental office where the patient has to stare at a wall.
• 2. Another protocol to help ensure patient comfort is that the patient is never left alone in the chair—there is always an assistant talking to the patient about their day, and about any concerns they might have about the procedure.
• 3. Any time I am treating a patient I let them know that if at any point they need to take a break, or if anything is uncomfortable, they are in charge—which puts the majority of people at ease so they can have the most comfortable visit.
• 4. We have pharmacological protocols in place for the patient’s comfort. For the truly anxious patient we provide sedation with some of the short acting diazepam products—what some people call laughing gas. In terms of local anesthetic, I pride myself on being one of the gentlest dentists giving an injection. The majority of the time when I tell the patient to rinse, they ask if I truly did just give them a shot, which tells me my technique is very well received as the patient could not even tell there was a needle. When a patient takes an oral sedative they need a driver to help them afterward, to be safe. On the other hand, with the nitrous oxide gas they are back to normal after breathing pure oxygen for about five minutes. The gas is a very comfortable and convenient option for the patient.

Dr. Michael E. Gallagher
West Park Dental
Cleveland, OH

New Patients Welcome
www.westparksmiles.com

Posted 11/8/2017

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