Sedation Dentistry

The introduction of safe new techniques has successfully removed fear and pain from the once scary dental appointment. Now that professional sedation dentistry has become readily available, the rationale for dental phobia are gone. This new type of pain free dentistry not only allays fear and anxiety, it also allows for several different procedures to be administered during one relaxed visit, a great time-saver in these busy days. Moreover, although the procedure may actually have taken an hour or more, sedation dentistry makes it seem as though it was over in a few minutes.

During the procedure, the patient receives one or more treatments before to the actual dental work. These techniques induce deep relaxation and allow for many formerly painful procedures to be done with absolutely no pain. Whether being fitted for dentures, implants, an extraction, cosmetic dentistry or orthodontics, a deep cleaning, a crown or a filling; the encouraging presence of a expert sedation dentist is the gentlest technique to allay dental phobia.

Sedation dentistry puts a patient into a soothing dream-like state from which they frequently awake with no memory of the experience. There are several methods of inducing this effect, including oral sedation, intravenous injection, and inhalation. In the case of oral sedation, the dentist prescribes an anti-anxiety drug to be taken either the night before or several hours earlier than the appointment. Depending on various factors, these drugs can create different sedative effects, from mild relaxation to sleep. Sleep medications like Ambien and Phenergen are most commonly administered to the most anxious patients.

Intravenous (IV) sedatives are delivered at the time of the appointment. These involve the insertion of a catheter into a vein in either the arm or the back of the hand through which an injectable form of medicine is administered. After the sedative takes effect, the patient drifts off and a local anesthesia is injected into the site of the procedure. For deeper sedation and pain relief combined, narcotics may be exchanged for milder sedatives. When using these medications, a patient’s vital signs (heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen level and breathing rate) are constantly monitored by trained personnel.

Probably the most familiar dental sedative is nitrous oxide, or “laughing gas”. A device like an oxygen mask is placed over the patient’s nose and mouth and the gas is breathed in. The effect is a enjoyable floating sensation that “removes” one from any sensation of pain. Vitals are also monitored during the administration of nitrous oxide.

Except in the case of intravenous sedation, the patient remains awake during the process and is able to speak with the dentist and his assistants. However, these drugs generally produce some amnesia, so that a patient might think he slept through the whole thing.

Side effects are usually mild and might include dry mouth and a short bout of hiccups. The good news is that post-operative pain is generally greatly reduced or completely absent. To date, there have not been any reports of adverse effects, so there is no longer a reason to neglect your oral health by postponing that visit to the dentist.

West Hills Dental Center offers three levels of Sedation to help make your treatment more comfortable. This enables patients in Portland and surrounding areas in Oregon to undergo complex dental treatments in just one consultation. Powered by SEO 2.0 Optimization Services