Sedation and sleep dentistry keep you relaxed and stress-free during your dental treatment.
Anesthetic and sedation options are available to prevent you from feeling pain and discomfort during your dental procedure. There are several methods available and several may be combined to give you complete coverage. The type of sedation or anesthesia used will depend on your personalized treatment plan, your personal needs and the expert opinion of your dentist or specialist.
The different kinds of sedation available can be summed up into three major groups. We can temporarily numb the small area receiving the work, You can be sedated so you are still awake but completely relaxed, or you can sleep through your procedure with general anesthesia. Here’s some more information about each group:
Everyone is familiar with this reliable standard. We patiently numb the area and then carefully inject a local anesthetic to put a small area of your mouth to sleep. You may feel pressure but will not feel pain.
Using prescription medication, laughing gas or administered through an IV, with light to moderate sedation you will be completely conscious but totally relaxed. This method of sedation is often used along with local freezing.
General anesthesia or deep sedation will make you very nearly or completely unconscious. Patients who remain awake often report not remembering a thing. You will remain relaxed and drowsy well after you wake up and will need someone to drive you home and stay with you.
Sedation and sleep dentistry are useful options that help us serve patients from all walks of life with many different challenges to overcome. Some of the benefits of sedation dentistry are as follows:
Rest assured that we talk to each and every one of our patients to understand their medical history to decide if sedation dentistry is the right option for you.
Sedation will make you feel drowsy and relaxed pretty quickly. Some people report feeling a mild tingly sensation. You may also experience mild amnesia afterwards and may not remember anything from the procedure.
Most sedation dentistry options don’t actually involve patients being put to sleep. Rather sedation dentistry allows patients to feel extremely relaxed. You may not even remember any of the procedure once it’s over.
When sedation is involved we always stress the importance of having a friend or family member drive you home and keep you company. It’s important to let the sedation wear off completely and give your body a rest before returning to your regular routine.
If you’ve been sedated for your dental procedure we would advise you to take the day off to recover. A good rule of thumb is to set aside 24-hours before returning to your regular routine. The time it takes for any drowsiness to pass will depend on what kind of sedation you receive but may be somewhere between 2 to 8 hours.