Dental Sedation
Say Goodbye to Your Dental Fears with Sedation DentistryDental Sedation Options
Many patients are overcome with feelings of anxiety when contemplating dental treatment. We understand. The following are the dental sedation options that we offer for your comfort.
Outpatient
Nitrous Oxide (Laughing Gas)
Nitrous oxide or laughing gas is an analgesic and helps provide some mild sedation and pain relief during the procedure. For nitrous oxide analgesia it is recommended that the patient have nothing to eat or drink approximately 3 hours ahead of time. There is no need for the patient to be escorted home if nitrous oxide and local anesthesia only are being used.
Intravenous Sedation and General Anesthesia
Intravenous sedation and general anesthesia are the most common types of supplemental anesthesia that we use. With intravenous sedation or conscious sedation, also known as twilight sleep, an intravenous catheter is placed and intravenous fluids are administered. The patient is fully monitored as described. Medications such as Midazolam (a sedative and amnesia causing drug), Fentanyl (a narcotic for pain relief) and Propofol or another similar medication, which causes the patient to be asleep are used. Theses drugs are used alone or in combination with one another to produce a desired effect. The dosages are based on the patient’s size, age, health status; level of sedation required or requested length of procedure, etc. The patient is sedated, relaxed, and may have no awareness or recollection of the procedure being done including the administration of local anesthesia which occurs following the administration of the IV sedation. IV general anesthesia is typically referred to as a deeper level of sedation where the patient is essentially asleep during the procedure but breathing without assistance.
General anesthesia, as is administered in the hospital by way of intubations and inhalation of volatile anesthesia, is administered by board certified anesthesiologist for any surgery that requires this level of anesthesia.
Pediatric Dental Sedation
Most surgical procedures require your child to stay still during the procedure, the pediatric population presents special challenges when undergoing anesthesia. Our goal is to offer the ultimate level of safety when treating your child under anesthesia. We offer multiple different options to treat your child, the option your doctor may choose will depend on the patients age, health history, degree of cooperation. We work with multiple health care facilities that offers anesthesia services to treat a wide range of patients in a safe and compassionate manner.
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