Sedation Dentistry
We use advanced sedation dentistry for a wide variety of in-house services. Our goal is to ensure you are comfortable, calm and relaxed through any dental treatment or dental procedure. Our team will work closely with you to assess what fears you may have and determine a treatment option that feels comfortable for you.
The Purpose of Dental Sedation
Dental sedation refers to medicine that is designed to reduce physical pain associated with treatment or to reduce anxiety and help you feel more relaxed while dental work is being completed. This makes the experience more pleasant and ensures our staff can perform their duties more effectively. At Warwick Dental, we offer dental sedation in the form of laughing gas, oral conscious sedation, IV sedation, and deep sedation.
- Laughing Gas
- Laughing gas, or nitrous, is a safe and effective sedation technique that is quickly administered through a patient’s nose. After inhaling the gas, patients will feel a sense of relaxation and a reduction in sensation.
- Oral Sedation
- This sedation type provides patients with a more relaxed and “fuzzy“ experience during their appointment. Patients will take medication anywhere from 12 hours to 1 hour before the appointment. By the time of the appointment, patients will be awake, but very sleepy and will have no sensation of pain.
- IV Sedation
- IV Sedation is the safest method of sedation because the medications can be tailored to each patient’s own levels extremely quickly. The patient will feel a little pinch in the arm and then the medications will create a full-sleep appointment with no memory of anything for the patient.
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What is laughing gas and what does it do?
Laughing gas is Nitrous Oxide and is commonly used as a local sedation method. It’s colorless and odorless and its usefulness stems from its ability to quickly work and safely reverse its affects. It is a widely considered safe dental sedation method.
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What types of anesthesia are used for dental work?
The most common types of anesthesia used are local anesthesia, IV sedation and general anesthesia. Local anesthesia is a numbing medication that is injected directly in the area that is to be treated—usually the gums around an effected tooth. In contrast, general anesthesia produces a more profound experience that usually leaves no memory of the actual procedure. It’s typically used for more intensive procedures like tooth extraction, dental implants or other surgical procedures and the patient is unconscious during the process. IV sedation is a deeper type of anesthesia that achieves a period of brief sedation with very little memory of the surgery.
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Do I need a driver?
For IV sedation you will need a driver before and after the procedure, as well as someone to help bring you home and stay with you for a couple of hours after the procedure. The medications that are used in IV sedation make it dangerous for you to be driving afterward.
However, laughing gas sedation, or Nitrous, is very safe and fast. You can drive yourself to and from the dental appointment.
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Will I be awake? What will I hear?
For laughing gas sedation, or nitrous, you will hear everything, but most of the time you just won’t care because of the laughing gas. This sedation has a very quick onset and quick ending.
Under IV sedation, you will not hear any of the noises that occur. This is the highest level of sedation and you will leave with little or no memory of the procedure.
More Questions?
If you have more questions about dental sedation and the procedures used by Warwick Dental, please contact our office and we will be happy to discuss further.
