Many adults put off necessary dental procedures due to fear and anxiety. Sedation dentistry offers relief to those who experience dental phobia.
Oral sedation involves taking a pill (usually Halcion, part of the diazepam family) an hour or two prior to your appointment in order to achieve mild to moderate sedation. You will remain awake but relaxed and sleepy, depending on the dose prescribed.
Oral Sedation
Oral Sedation involves taking a pill prior to an appointment that induces mild drowsiness and relaxation, helping the patient remain calm and at ease throughout their appointment. It is particularly effective for nervous or fearful dental procedures as it helps the individual feel at ease in the chair and reduces movement or jerking of jaw joints which could otherwise be disruptive or uncomfortable for the dentist.
Moderate sedation allows patients to remain aware and responsive during appointments while typically forgetting everything that took place during them. They are also typically able to drive themselves home afterward as its effects usually wear off quickly.
Doctors will closely monitor drowsiness/relaxation levels as well as heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels throughout an appointment to ensure safety and effectiveness. This treatment option can be particularly helpful for individuals who fear dentists, have strong chocking reflexes or find it hard to sit still for long appointments.
Nitrous Oxide
Nitrous oxide, more commonly referred to as laughing gas, is a mild sedative used during dental procedures and breathed in through a mask over their nose during dental appointments. Mixed with oxygen for controllability by dentists during your procedure. Once finished, pure oxygen will be administered afterward so as to flush away the effects of laughing gas from your system.
This short-acting sedative has an immediate calming effect that won’t interfere with a patient’s ability to respond to questions or instructions from their dentist. Perfect for adults and children suffering anxiety related to dental visits. Safe for use around children as well.
Nitrous oxide does not produce sleepiness like deep sedation does, yet can still make you feel so relaxed that you briefly doze off and lose consciousness. This form of sedation is particularly useful for individuals who cannot use oral or IV sedation and allow for quicker recovery time afterward.
Intravenous Sedation
If your fear of visiting the dentist is intense, we offer intravenous sedation as an option to ease your anxieties. It should only be considered when performing longer or more extensive procedures and requires someone else be brought along as it takes hours for its effects to wear off.
Just before your treatment begins, a pill known as Halcion or something similar (similar to Valium) will be given to you about an hour in advance to induce sleepiness while still remaining aware and responsive. At higher dosage levels, this may even make you fall asleep during the procedure but can easily be awakened with a gentle shake of your arm.
Under this type of sedation, your vital signs will be carefully monitored using an ECG machine and pulse oximeter, which clips onto your finger or earlobe and measures oxygen saturation levels. Your blood pressure and respiration rate will also be closely observed throughout your appointment by a general dental nurse who has advanced life support training – administered by a doctor trained in anaesthesia who will also serve as your anesthesia provider and monitor you throughout your appointment.
General Anesthesia
Anesthesia, narcotics, sedative-hypnotics and muscle relaxants may be combined to induce unconsciousness. A mechanical ventilator is often also utilized to maintain oxygen levels, control respiration rates and prevent aspiration (inhaling stomach fluids into the lungs).
General anesthesia can provide significant relief during dental procedures. It can also benefit children who fear visiting the dentist and patients with difficulty sitting still.
Most forms of sedation last up to an hour, so someone will need to drive you home after your appointment. Some types of sedation may make you sleepy, which could cause you to fall asleep on the car ride home. Therefore, bring a pillow and blanket for added comfort during this journey home, plus make sure you eat something prior to coming in; caffeine should be avoided as much as possible and don’t operate any machinery until all effects of sedation have worn off.
If you need sedation dentistry, look for “sleep dentistry near me“.
