Sedation Dentistry

What Is Sedation Dentistry?

Sedation dentistry involves any kind of dental procedure where anesthetics or drugs are used to calm the patient prior to and during the procedure being performed.

What Types of Sedation Are Used in Dentistry?

The most popular forms of sedation dentistry used by professional dentists today are nitrous oxide (laughing gas), oral sedation, and sedation administered intravenously. The specific form used by a dentist will depend on the type of procedure being performed, as well as the patient’s level of comfort with that type of procedure. In some cases, it may be necessary to administer a general anesthetic to the patient.

Can Any Dentist Perform Sedation?

Most dentists are capable of administering minimum sedation and local sedation, but they don’t usually have the training to administer a general anesthetic or deep sedation. In order to have that capability, a dentist must be trained through a program offered by the Commission of Dental Accreditation (CODA).

How Safe Is Sedation Dentistry?

There is always some level of risk associated with any form of sedation, but it is a safe procedure when administered by a qualified dentist. A greater risk of having something go wrong generally occurs with people who have sleep apnea, or who are obese. However, these individuals will usually consult with their dentists prior to being sedated.

Benefits

There are actually several significant benefits which result from using sedation dentistry. First of all, it seriously reduces the gag reflex tendency of a a patient, which is the patient’s natural instinct to cough or choke, rejecting the dental implements placed in the mouth. Relief of pain is another major benefit of sedation dentistry, because while the patient is sedated, he/she cannot feel pain since the brain is unable to register the feeling of pain under sedation. The patient is much less anxious under sedation, and in most cases is completely free of any anxiety during the process. All these things taken together allow the dentist to work much faster, and complete the procedure more smoothly and in less time, because there is no interference from the patient.

Selecting a Sedation Dentist

When choosing a sedation dentist, you should keep the following points in mind:

• are they affiliated with any local hospital?
• what kind of patients are routinely treated by the candidate dentist?
• what types of sedation are offered by the dentist?
• does the candidate have any partnerships with other dental professionals, so all your dental needs can be met?

Schedule an Appointment

If you’re an individual who strongly prefers sedation dentistry so as to be completely comfortable during any procedure, we can definitely accommodate you. Call us at Ammons Dental by Design and schedule an appointment, or setup an initial consultation, so we can review what type of procedure you need, and give you a thorough examination. Once we’ve diagnosed your issue and we know what kind of work is necessary, we can schedule an appointment with you to have the work done. You’ll be completely free of anxiety, and you may not even be aware that you had a dental procedure performed.