What is Dental Sedation?

Sedation is a technique used by dentists to relax their patients in preparation for surgery or cosmetic dental work; it makes the process easier and more comfortable for both patient and surgeon. There are various ways to sedate someone, but all of them work in the same way, by reducing motor activity and causing the patient to become drowsy, without losing consciousness. Sedation is often confused with anaesthesia, but most methods concentrate more on relaxation and less on numbing the pain; some sedatives are used at the same time as anaesthetic, if the patient is nervous or afraid of needles. Because dental phobia is quite a common thing, lots of clinics offer sedation as part of their service, in order to move forward with smoother treatment, and allow the patients to undergo surgery without too much stress.

What are the different types of sedation?

What kind of sedation your dentist selects is based on several factors; your overall health, your medical history, how you approach the surgery, and how invasive the procedure is, as well as their own personal preference – taking into account their experience with particular techniques.

Inhalants – You may be familiar with the term ‘laughing gas’, used to describe nitrous oxide, which is not only a sedative, it is also an anaesthetic. It only takes a few minutes for the gas to take effect, then you will start to feel happy and relaxed, and you won’t feel any pain. A lot of surgeons like to use nitrous oxide because it doesn’t knock the patient unconscious – like general anaesthetic – and there is a very fast recovery rate, once the procedure is complete. Inhalants like this need to be carefully monitored, and it’s important to get the mix of oxygen and nitrous oxide correct, otherwise there is a danger of suffocation. Some patients have reported feeling deliriously happy and experiencing a tingling sensation in their limbs, as well as only recalling small portions of the operation. The effects tend to vary, depending on the amount of the gas inhaled, the potency of the mixture, and the time for which the patient is sedated.

Oral sedation – If your dentist prescribes some oral sedatives for you, you will need to take one before you go to bed the night before your appointment, and another when you wake up in the morning. This type of sedation is quite popular with patients who are uncomfortable with or afraid of injections, as there are no needles involved. When under the influence of the drug, you will feel drowsy and your senses may feel slightly dulled – this is why it’s not a good idea to drive yourself to and from the clinic, you should organise your travel beforehand. Although oral sedatives might numb your senses, they don’t block the nerve signals entirely, so you will still need to have anaesthetic, to stop you feeling any pain. Fortunately, if it’s the anaesthetic that’s worrying you, sedation will lower your anxiety and allow you to relax throughout the process.

IV sedation – This kind of sedative uses a needle to administer the drug, which makes the patient feel like they are asleep, when in fact they remain conscious for the duration of the treatment. If you are given an IV sedative, you will be able to follow instructions and will be aware of your surroundings at a very basic level, none of which you are likely to remember at a later date. Because the drip relaxes you so intensely, you experience a type of temporary amnesia, which wears off as the drug leaves your system. Whilst IV sedatives are highly effective, they can cause health problems in older patients, pregnant women, those who suffer from glaucoma, and patients with lung or kidney problems, it’s also not advisable for people who have had an allergic reaction to sedation techniques in the past.

Who can have dental sedation?

If you are afraid of needles, or you have a serious phobia of the dentist’s chair, you can enquire about methods of sedation – providing you are healthy and you understand the procedure, there should be no reason why your dentist would advise otherwise. Sedation has helped many people overcome their fear of the dentist; it could prove vital if you are suffering from severe dental problems that desperately need medical attention.

You might be prevented from having sedation if you are taking some kind of medication, which could affect the performance of oral sedatives, or be dangerous if the two are mixed together – speak to your dentist if you are taking prescription medication. Also, if you have had a bad reaction to sedatives in the past, or you just have a history of allergies, your dentist may not want to sedate you, for fear of a similar occurrence. Finally, those who have an all-consuming fear of all things dental might just be too scared to even consider sedation, it might sound over-the-top, but there are people who don’t even like to think about sitting in the dentist’s chair for a check-up, let alone invasive surgery. In these cases, it might be necessary to consider speaking to a therapist, to try and get to the bottom of what’s causing such debilitating problems.

If you would like more information about methods of sedation, call the Pearl Dental Clinic and arrange a consultation today.

How is dental sedation beneficial?

Not only does dental sedation mean patients won’t feel nervous and fearful when they arrive at the clinic, it also means their treatment can be performed much more efficiently than if they were fully lucid. People who have been too scared to attend dentists appointments can undergo several procedures in a fraction of the time it would take if they were extremely anxious. Even patients who are not particularly afraid of the dentist can benefit from sedation methods, especially if they are having very invasive surgery, which keeps them in the chair for several hours.

Everyone is different, and whatever the cause of dental phobia, we all need this type of on-going care, sedation is vital if nervous people are to get the attention they require.