Sedation or Sleep Dentistry

The Procedure

Sedation Dentistry is also known as Sleep Dentistry even though the patient is kept awake throughout the sedation process. Even though the term sleep dentistry is quite misleading as you do not sleep during the procedure, but  patient may feel sleepy because of the sedation effect of the medication. If due to complex medical problems that prohibit you from being administered sedation, you can be given a different medication to induce a much deeper type of sleep during the dental treatment. This is in common parlance general anesthesia and not sedation dentistry.

In sedation dentistry, the sedative methods differ in strength and purpose; however there is no single modality that is considered better than others. Each sedation dentistry modality is designed for a specific purpose. While the sedation dentist decides on the dose and strength a patient can ask for stronger sedatives if you suffer from severe anxieties.

Local Anesthesia - The most widely used method is local anesthesia, which is administered via injection in the mouth. In this case, a topical anesthetic gel that produces a numbing effect is applied on the area to be treated on prior to injection. Local anesthetics are convenient because they leave you conscious with full awareness of the happenings. Local anesthetics are commonly used for minor dental procedures.

Inhalation Analgesia (also known as Laughing Gas or Nitrous Oxide) - Nitrous Oxide is administered through a small nose-hood placed over the nose which is administered prior to and throughout the treatment. People generally experiences an overall feeling of well-being and numbness. Nitrous Oxide is the most commonly used types of anesthesia from dental patients who have anxieties about the procedure.

Oral Sedation - Oral sedative is given in the form of a small pill before dental procedures to reduce awareness of pain, sounds, and smells. Oral sedation is generally associated with sedation dentistry.

Intravenous Sedation - Intravenous sedation can make people feel as if they are asleep very much like oral sedation. The difference between oral and intravenous is the way it is administered. Intravenous sedation is given through injection. It is effective in short dental treatment procedures and has a definite advantage over oral sedation because the sedative action is nearly instant. Amnesia is a general side effect of intravenous sedation and oral sedation, often people believing that their procedure lasted few minutes.

Intramuscular Sedation - An injection into the muscles of the upper arm or upper thigh, intramuscular drugs causes sedation within five minutes. It is very rarely used in dentistry except in emergency cases.

General Anesthesia - General anesthesia is not a type of sedation dentistry. General anesthesia produces unconsciousness, the effects of which may linger for hours if not days after treatment completion. General anesthesia is generally used for oral surgery and for a small percentage of people who are not good candidates for sedation dentistry.

In all cases of sedation dentistry, it is advisable to have an escort accompany you all through the dentistry procedure, take you home after the procedure is complete and be with you for four to six hours at home.

Tobacco is a major contributor towards dental decay and ultimately leading to tooth extraction.  If you cannot do without tobacco then make sure you follow a strict oral hygiene routine like brushing teeth atleast 2 times a day, flossing the teeth.  Carry out teeth bleaching and recontouring whenever your dentist asks you to, it can reduce the severity of dental decay in future.  Dental Hygiene is always better than curing a dental disease.