Reserved for patients whom suffer from anxiety, sedation dentistry is the best way to complete all of your dental treatments with minimal discomfort. It is an efficient and safe way of completely removing the anxiousness and dread connected with any part of dentistry. Sedation dentistry uses medication to help patients relax during dental procedures. It is frequently referred to as “sleep dentistry,” although that’s not wholly correct. Patients usually remain awake, with the sole exception of those that are under general anesthesia.

The levels of sedation used include:

  • Minimal sedation: you are awake but relaxed.
  • Moderate sedation (formerly called “conscious sedation”): you can slur your words when talking and not remember much of the process.
  • Deep sedation: you are on the fringe of consciousness but can still be awakened.
  • General anesthesia: you are totally unconscious.

The following kinds of sedation are used in dentistry:

  • Inhaled minimal sedation. You breathe nitrous oxide — otherwise known as “laughing gas” — combined with oxygen through a mask that is placed over your nose. The gas helps you relax. Your dentist can control the quantity of sedation you receive, and the gas tends to dissipate fast. This is the only form of sedation where you may be able to drive yourself home after the process.
  • Oral sedation. Depending on the total dose given, oral sedation can range all the way from nominal to moderate. For minimal sedation, you take a pill. Usually the tablet is Halcion, which is a member of the same drug family as Valium, and it’s usually taken about an hour before the process. The tablet will make you sleepy, though you may still be awake. A larger dose may be given to supply moderate sedation. This is the sort of anesthesia most commonly connected with sedation dentistry. A few people become groggy enough from moderate oral sedation to actually go to sleep in the procedure. They sometimes can, though, be awakened with a mild shake.
  • IV moderate sedation. You receive the sedative drug through a vein, so it goes to work more quickly. This strategy will allow the dentist to repetitively adjust the level of sedation.

Deep sedation and general anesthesia.

You will receive medications, which will make you either almost asleep or totally asleep in the procedure. While you are under general anesthesia, you cannot simply be awakened until the results of the anesthesia wear off or are reversed with medicine.

Without regard for which sort of sedation you receive, you’ll also typically need a local painkiller (numbing medication at the site where the dentist is working in the mouth) to relieve agony if the process causes any discomfort.

To learn more about Oral Sedation Dentistry, visit Cochrane Dentist in Absolute Dental Care.