Let's start with a brief note that the gag reflex is a natural, unconditional physiological reflex and can be triggered even by simple manipulation around the oral cavity. There are also patients who have such an intensified reflex that even daily oral hygiene (placing a toothbrush in the mouth) poses a huge problem.
Unfortunately, even though we know it's natural, the patient feels discomfort and reluctance to visit the dental office. Additionally, it is also a problem for the dentist, who faces a more challenging task.
However…
Nowadays, we are able to overcome this obstacle (for most patients).
So, how do we do it?
Trick #1.
Special magnets placed on a small patch, which we stick to the patient between the lips and the mouth during the procedure. They are designed to reduce the gag reflex. We've tested it, and it works, although we don't know exactly how it functions:)
Trick #2.
Once again, it's the laser, which is already mentioned quite a bit on the site. Although the effect here is much smaller, we are still able to some extent to suppress the gag reflex with its help.
Trick #3.
The use of a rubber dam, which is designed to isolate the treatment field. It is a piece of rubber, appropriately shaped, stretched over a special frame, and placed on the patient's face. By making holes in the rubber dam, the dentist can expose the teeth that will be treated (for those interested in how it looks, I recommend this video). The purpose of such a rubber dam is to create a barrier that prevents water, dust, filling residues, or various unpleasant tastes from entering the patient's mouth.
Trick #4.
The bane of patients (not only those with gag reflexes) are impressions taken for prosthetic work. In many offices, you may still encounter the classic form, which involves placing a special tray with impression material in the patient's mouth and holding it still for 3 minutes until it hardens. It is cumbersome and unpleasant, but here digital dentistry comes to our aid.
Today, we can achieve exactly the same effect with a special intraoral scanner. It is a camera connected to a computer that scans the teeth in three dimensions. The difference here is that in the case of taking a classic impression, in the event of a gag reflex, the entire work is repeated from scratch, whereas with a computer scan, the program continuously saves what we have already managed to scan.
As you can see, there are quite a few methods. The first step, however, is choosing the right dental office:)