What You Need to Know About Sedation Dentistry

What You Need to Know About Sedation Dentistry

Oct 01, 2020

Do you have a dental phobia to an extent you would rather suffer the agony of a toothache than visit a dentist? If so, you don’t have to suffer from toothache and infections anymore for long without treatment. With sedation dentistry, your dentist can help you feel less anxious and relaxed while sitting in the dental office.

Your dentist can utilize sedation dentistry for invasive procedures to simple ones such as teeth cleanings. Sedation dentistry utilizes medications that help a patient feel relaxed during dental procedures. During the process, you might be awake or unconscious, depending on the sedation technique your dentist used.

The levels of sedation that your dentist might use includes:

  • Minimal sedation whereby you are awake but feeling relaxed
  • Moderate sedation where you might not be awake but not remember much of the procedure
  • Deep sedation whereby you are at the edge of consciousness but can wake up with a tap on your shoulder or gentle shake
  • General anesthesia in which you are unconscious and can’t remember anything from the procedure

Sedation Techniques in Dentistry

Depending on your condition and the dental procedure, our dentist  at OASIS Modern Dentistry can use the sedation techniques below:

Minimal Inhaled Sedation

When utilizing this sedation technique, your dentist in Houston, TX, will apply a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen gas through a mask. During the procedure, the dentist can regulate the amount of nitrous oxide you inhale, and the gas tends to wear off quickly.

Therefore, your dentist will consider using nitrous oxide to provide relaxation during short and minimally invasive dental procedures. Also, the dentist will still administer local anesthesia to numb the area of treatment. After the procedure, your dentist can clear you to drive yourself home since the effects of nitrous oxide wear off immediately.

Oral Sedation

Oral sedation utilizes pills that help you feel relaxed during a dental procedure in case you have dental phobia. Depending on the total dose your dentist gives, the levels of sedation range from mild to moderate.

For mild oral sedation, the dentist will ask you to swallow a Helicon pill an hour before the dental procedure. The pill will make you feel drowsy during the procedure, but you will still be awake. For moderate effects when receiving sedation dentistry in Houston, Tx, the dentist will prescribe a larger dose.

When under oral sedation procedure, some patients feel groggy enough to fall asleep, but can still awaken with a tap on their shoulders.

Moderate IV Sedation

When receiving sedation dentistry in Houston, the dentist can consider IV sedation for moderate effects. The technique offers quick sedation since the dentist administers the medications via your blood vessels.  This technique allows your dentist to adjust the levels of sedation continually.

You are likely to fall asleep during the procedure and slur through your words, but you can awaken with a gentle shake.

Deep Sedation Using General Anesthesia

Your dentist can administer general anesthesia even when you don’t have a dental phobia. When you need a more invasive dental procedure that takes long, your dentist might consider general anesthesia. During the procedure, you will be completely unconscious and can’t remember anything from the moment the anesthesia takes effect.

While under general anesthesia, you are asleep and can’t wake up until it wears off or your dentist in Houston, TX, uses reverse medications. Before the procedure, your dentist recommends you arrange a ride home since the effects might take time to wear off after the procedure.

What Are the Benefits of Sedation Dentistry?

Sedation dentistry offers several benefits to patients. One of the ways people benefit from sedation dentistry is feeling like the procedure was only a few minutes, whereas it took hours. Therefore, for those who are undergoing smile makeovers and extensive rebuilding dental procedures, you can benefit from sedation dentistry.

Overcoming fear and anxiety is one of the goals of applying sedation dentistry during dental procedures. When under sedatives, you are likely to feel more comfortable on the dentist’s chair. Therefore, sedation dentistry helps those with dental phobia avoid the agony associated with untreated dental problems.

Some kids tend to be restless during dental procedures, slowing down the dentist. Therefore, sedation prevents gag reflex, helping the dentist work faster.

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