Dental Sedation

Fear and anxiety of dentist should not be an issue since sedation comes as a standard option with all dental services. Having concerns is perfectly normal. Everything about treatment and sedation should be discussed with dentist before starting, in order to find the type of sedation that fits you best. If you are afraid of needles, have prior dental trauma, or generally afraid of dentist, sedation will reduce stress as well as chair time, allowing more work to be done per visit. Sometimes patients who have sensitive nerves or small mouths need sedation too, simply because procedures cause more pain and discomfort to them. When talking about sedation process – it implies administration of drugs in various ways, which can help with relaxing patients and allowing them to enjoy treatments stress free.

Before considering sedation dentist must go through medical history, physical assessment and individual characteristics before proceeding. Certain conditions like cardiac diseases, diabetes, respiratory or renal diseases, may require clearance from a physician.

Types of sedation are: gas and oral.

Nitrous oxide, otherwise known as laughing gas, in combination with oxygen is inhaled through mask. Popularly known for its laughing effect, it provides good level of sedation and relaxation. Easy to control and quickly wears off, which is very convenient for patients to return to daily activities.

Oral sedation involves consuming pill shaped drugs, usually night before or/and an hour before treatment. Diazepam, Midazolam, Lorazepam are most commonly used for those purposes. Also, they are known for drowsiness, making driving back home not advised.

Typically, regardless of which sedation patients receive, they will also be administered local anesthetic for numbing and relieving from any pain. Sedation can be applied to children as well, when they are terrified or just refusing to cooperate. Any upper mentioned sedating drug is safe as long as they are applied within the recommended dosage for the age and weight.

You may want to ask Dr. Mo Al-Shakarchi for a “5 minute trial” to see how you feel with this type of sedation method before proceeding with further treatment.