What you got to know about Dental Sedation

Have you ever put off a trip to the dentist because you’re nervous? Dental anxiety is quite common, and many times, one of the best ways to help ease this is dental sedation. This can ease that tension and give you a better experience, but you should definitely know what to expect when sedation is utilized, how it works, and the different aspects to help make it better for you. 

Dental sedation is using medication in order to relax for something. When a person is too scared or too tense to have dental work completed, sedative will ease some of that anxiety. Most of the time they’re used when someone has fear and anxiety, and that can cause problems down the line. Mild sedatives will help with relaxing enough during checkups and teeth cleaning. It also is used too for those who are getting fillings and mild work.

Is it safe? Well yes, so long as you have someone who is qualified to administer that.  They must consider your medical history, any allergies, and the benefits before they do so.

You can get this for children too.  This is usually done when they need to do extensive work on the child.  This helps with a lot of difficult or time-sensitive procedures.  You don’t need to do anything special minus the instructions that are followed such as eating and drinking beforehand.  Usually, the sedation is given either through a liquid medication or nitrous oxide. It’s rarely done through an IV, unless of course it’s a very invasive procedure.

If your child is nervous, just tell them they’ll feel like they’ve fallen asleep.  They might wake up feeling like they took a long nap.

Usually, you get four different types of sedation. The first is inhaled, which is commonly known as laughing gas.  This is used to help relax.  Sometimes you might get an oral sedative, which will help them feel drowsy, but awake, and some people might fall asleep completely. Then there is the IV sedation, which is done via a vein. It’ll work fast, and it’s adjusted throughout this. only trained professionals use this, and it’s only for the super anxious types of people. Finally, you get general anesthesia, which means that you’re nearly unconscious or completely unconscious.  Usually, it takes time to fully awake from this kid of sedation. Usually, you don’t get that unless you’re getting super invasive surgery.

Typically, these are used for dental extractions, oral surgery, dental implants, periodontal surgery, treatment of abscessed teeth, and root canals, but sometimes you might get these for other reasons too. If you feel like you really need some oral sedation to sit there and go through the procedure, make sure to talk to your dentist about it, and let them know how you’re doing, and if you need any special sedation as a result.