At the dentist’s office, sedation can be used to ensure that the patient is calm and comfortable for a long procedure. Dental sedation can be administered to children and adults to make dental work less stressful. It also makes it easier for the dentist to complete the procedure.
Sedation allows the patient to be less tense, yet still able to be conscious and responsive to the dentist and his care team during a procedure. This is referred to as conscious sedation. Depending on the type of sedation, the patient may have no memory of a procedure. The perception of pain is also diminished by sedation, so it increases overall comfort.
Options for dental sedation include oral, gas, and intravenous sedatives. Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, has been in use for many years in dentist’s offices. The gas can easily be administered through a mask and counteracted quickly with oxygen. It still offers patients such as children and special needs individuals a quick and effective way to achieve sedation. Oral sedatives can be prescribed to take at home prior to a procedure. Intravenous sedatives must be administered at the time of the procedure.
Is Dental Sedation Safe?
The risks of the dental sedation methods used today are low, and the side effects are minimal. Sedation can cause grogginess for a long time. Typical recovery time is faster with sedation versus general anesthesia, which makes a person completely unconscious, sometimes for hours.
When given and monitored by a trained dentist, sedation for dental procedures is considered safe for healthy people. It is easy to administer orally or via an IV drip, and it wears off gradually. Sedation makes a person groggy, so it is recommended that someone else drive you to your appointment when sedation is being used.
People with underlying health issues have higher risks when under sedation and anesthesia. Be sure to tell your dentist about any health issues you have, such as diabetes, heart disease, high or low blood pressure, and so on.
What Sedation Doesn’t Do
It is important to understand what sedation is and what it isn’t. While it dulls sensations of pain and discomfort, sedation is different than numbing pain with local anesthetic, such as novocaine. Even when administering sedation, dentists inject novocaine into the gums following sedation to further ensure that the patient does not feel pain from a procedure, such as a filling, extraction, or crown.
At Uptown Dental, we welcome your questions about dental procedures and the best practices related to dental cleanings, pediatric dentistry, X-rays, and dental sedation. Contact us to learn more and make an appointment.