How does sedation dentistry work?

If you’re anxious about going to the dentist, then dental sedation may be the perfect option for you. But if you have never experienced it, you might wonder how it feels like to be sedated at the dentist and how sedation dentistry works? 

 

To help put you more at ease, here’s what you need to know about “sleep dentistry” and how it works to prepare you for your next appointment better. 

 

How Sleep Dentistry Works

Sleep dentistry, also known as Conscious sedation, is a procedure in which the dentist uses a sedative to help you relax during a dental appointment. Your dentist may use oral, gas, or IV sedatives that reduce pain sensitivity and anxiety. This results in a pleasant dental visit, regardless of any past anxiety or fear around the procedure. 

 

Oral Sedation

The most common technique for dental sedation is oral sedation. It’s easy and doesn’t require the use of needles. Oral sedation is often called conscious sedation. It involves you taking a prescribed dose of sedative just before your procedure. This type of sedation leaves you awake but significantly makes you relax. This type of sedation is most beneficial for patients with higher levels of anxiety. 

 

Though this sedation doesn’t cause sleep, most patients remember very little to no procedure memories. Depending on your case, your dentist may monitor your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing. Or you may not need that kind of monitoring. It depends on factors determined by your dentist. The sedative will likely make you sleep, but the next day all of its effects will wear off. It’s better to have someone drive you home, so plan with a friend or family member in advance. 

 

Inhalation Sedation

Nitrous oxide, or more commonly known as laughing gas, is used to relax patients during a procedure. You’ll be conscious while taking laughing gas. And it will likely wear off once you stop breathing it in. Patients who only receive laughing gas as a sedative usually can drive themselves home after a procedure.

 

Your dentist will give you a nose apparatus through which you breathe the gas. Its effects are mild and quick. You’ll start to feel the gas as soon as you start breathing it in. Some people relax enough with laughing gas and do not require another type of sedation. Others need laughing gas with oral sedation. 

 

IV Sedation

IV sedation dentistry has a few types. The first is known as “twilight.” Twilight IV sedation makes you feel sleepy, but you’ll be conscious. You may not remember any of the procedure once it’s done. However, you won’t be unconscious, and it’s possible to wake you up if you fell asleep. 

 

The other option is general anesthesia, which is relatively uncommon in sleep dentistry. Only patients who require major oral surgery or resistant to other types of sedation will receive general anesthesia. It makes you totally unconscious. This sedation needs to happen in a hospital or a specialized clinic under the supervision of anesthetists. 

 

Conclusion

We recommend you to have someone drive you home and stay with you until the dental sedative wears off. Don’t worry, as it can take 24 hours for the medication to leave your body. In fact, very few patients experience side effects. Dental sedatives may even encourage you to go to critical dental appointments that you’d put off due to nervousness or fear about the procedure. This often results in improved overall oral health throughout your life.