Cavities, drills, Novocaine: three words people hate to hear. For some folks they even bring fear and anxiety. But now there is some help for those scared of the dentist. It's called sedation dentistry. It puts you in a haze so you don't feel a thing.

once you hear the sound of the drill you know pain in coming. Pain, so the dentist can fill cavities.

Dr. Sue Keller says "There's nobody more stressed out, scared and in pain than those in a dental office."

That's where Dr. Sue Keller comes in. She says her dental practice, Strong and Healthy Smiles in Florence, is the first and only sedation-focused practice in Western Mass.

Dr. Keller says, "Some one who is sedated consciously, you can respond to commands, open your mouth, turn your head."

But you can't feel what's going on inside your mouth. With the help of a few pills, in the Valium-family, the dentist is virtually pain free

Keller says, "This is taking a pill before the procedure, the evening before, and when you're at the office you receive more medication in a crushed form underneath you tongue so it gets adsorbed into your bloodstream quickly."

And if you need it she also has laughing gas to put you even more at ease.

Keller says, "I can do four to six hours of work on them in one visit."

But does sedation really work?

Analise Hartnett, a patient, says, "I don't really remember anything about the appointment and that's exactly the way I wanted it."

Hartnett had about 10 cavities to be filled and she wasn't looking forward to it.

She says, "That's the main thing for me is the Novocaine and the pinch and I have a really hard time getting numb"

But with the sedation she says she didn't feel a thing.

Hartnett says, "You just feel really relaxed and warm and fuzzy."

Words that usually are not associated with the dentist chair.

Keller says, "It's a life changing experience for many of them to start taking care of themselves."

Care that includes not remembering the sound of the drill.

As for price, the sedation is not covered by insurance. It costs anywhere from 100 to 500 dollars depending on the level you get. That's in addition to the cost of the procedures.