Sedation Dentistry
Sleep Dentistry: You’re In Safe Hands!
If you are worried about pain and discomfort that your child will experience during his/her oral surgery or other dental procedure, you will be happy to find out that we offer sleep dentistry to ignore issues such as cavities, broken or loose teeth, and other problems can put your child oral health at serious risk.
What is sleep dentistry?
This is one of the most common questions asked by patients looking for oral dental treatment without having to preserve through all the pain associated with traditional dental procedures. Sleep dentistry also referred to as sedation dentistry. The phobia that many adults have today regarding dental treatment is often the result of poor dental experiences when they were children. Children today receiving dental care can be treated with safe orally administered sedation. Utilizing modern, safe sedative medications, a child can be conscious, yet sleepy, with no memory of their dental treatment.
What is pediatric sedation?
Children aren’t little adults. They have different metabolism and different airway. Dentists who work with children and teens take special training to create a safe and comfortable dental experience for our kids so they can grow up without the fear and anxiety many adults experience. Just like adults, however, a careful review of medical history and discussion of the child’s needs is important to choose the right medications and protocol.
There are three levels of sedation namely
Minimal sedation – you will be awake throughout the process but you relaxed.
Moderate sedation – this is known as conscious sedation. It is characterized by loss of memory and slur conversation.
General anesthesia – you will be completely unconscious throughout the procedure. You will not remember anything that happens while undergoing the dental procedure.
Some patients are skeptical that anything less than a total anesthetic could make them undergo a dental procedure without panicking, but sleep dentistry has a number of benefits, including
- Anesthesia means no risk of adverse reactions
- Patients can go home immediately after oral conscious sedation
- Experience a dentist visit consciously without fear or anxiety
Many patients who undergo sleep dentistry are able to overcome their fear of the dentist gradually with each visit.
What types of sedation are used in dentistry?
The following types of sedation are used in dentistry:
Inhaled Minimal Sedation
You breathe nitrous oxide — otherwise known as “Laughing gas” — combined with oxygen through a mask that’s placed over your nose. The gas helps you relax. Your dentist can control the amount of sedation you receive, and the gas tends to wear off quickly. This is the only form of sedation where you may be able to drive yourself home after the procedure.
IV Moderate Sedation
You receive the sedative drug through a vein, so it goes to work more quickly. This method allows the dentist to continually adjust the level of sedation.
Deep Sedation and General Anesthesia
Will get medications that will make you either almost unconscious or totally unconscious — deeply asleep — during the procedure. While you are under general anesthesia, you cannot easily be awakened until the effects of the anesthesia wear off or are reversed with medication.
How does Sedation Dentistry work?
The process depends on the type of sedation your dentist chooses. If you’re taking an oral sedative, for instance, your dentist will write you a prescription for the drug and give you instructions on how to take it. As long as you follow those instructions, you’ll benefit from reduced anxiety and increased relaxation. Once the medication begins to work, you should start to feel drowsy and content.
You don’t have to prepare at all for nitrous oxide. Your dentist will supply it before, during, and right after the procedure. However, if you choose iv sedation, you might have to prepare in advance.
For instance, your dentist might ask you to fast — not eat or drink anything — for several hours before the dental work. You might also need to avoid taking certain medications the day before you visit the dentist because they can interfere with the sedation medication.
Children can benefit fro Sedation for a number of reasons:
1. Avoid fear in children too young to realize the dentist is safe. For children too young to understand that the dentist is necessary, sedation can help minimize fear and discomfort.
2. Build lifelong good habits Children who have dental problems early in life often come away with a fear of the dentist and a dislike of anything oral health-related. This can lead to poor hygiene and an avoidance of the dentist later in life. Sedation can prevent these upsetting memories from forming.
3. Help children with severe dental needs get treatment comfortably. Few people find it easy to sit still at the dentists for extended periods, and children are no different. For kids who need a lot of work done, sedation can help them be more comfortable and hold still longer.
4. Fewer appointments make life easier for parents. It’s a challenge as a parent to schedule multiple appointments around work, school, childcare, and activities. Many parents intend to finish a treatment plan but are unable to make every appointment. Sedation condenses extensive treatment into one no-memory appointment that’s easy to plan for.
5. Shorter recovery time and easier management of discomfort. Dentists can do their best and most careful work on a sedated patient, which makes for a faster recovery time. Additionally, the lack of stress hormones and fear reduces inflammation and speeds recovery as well, and the patient sleeps through the worst of the post-op discomfort!
6. Reduced gag reflex. In many cases, patients who receive laughing gas or other types of sedation before their appointment experience a reduction in their gag reflex. This makes it easier for the dentist to get their work done in a timely manner, and it makes things more comfortable for the patient.
7. Receive multiple treatments. For patients who need to undergo multiple treatments (such as those who haven’t seen the dentist in a long time), sedation dentistry is very helpful. It allows the patient to remain comfortable while having extensive work done on their teeth and gums.
Who needs Sedation Dentistry?
Phobia related to dental procedures
Bad experience with dental work in the past
Particularly sensitive oral nerves
Smallmouth that becomes sore during dental work
Resistance to local anesthetic
General anxiety disorder
Is Sleep Dentistry and General Anaesthesia the same?
Sleep dentistry is very different from general anesthesia. You’re conscious but very relaxed the whole time and you recover much faster. It’s also much safer than having a general anesthetic
Procedures performed under conscious Sedation
Most routine dental work
Deep cleaning, scaling, and root planting
Filling and Root cleaning
Crowns
Extractions