Sedation Dentistry: An Overview
Safety, comfort, and overall satisfaction are important to our team, so we work with you to ensure your dental needs are met. Advanced Dental Health offers our patients both conscious sedation and sleep dentistry sedation methods.
Only a dentist with advanced training should administer dental sedation to eliminate complications, ensure effective treatment, and maximize patient comfort. Dr. Roham Rafat has completed extensive post-graduate training and is certified in Maryland to administer IV sedation to our Hunt Valley dentist office patients.
Who Benefits From Sedation Dentistry?
Traditionally, sedation dentistry focuses on patients who suffer from a fear of the dentist. Dental anxiety occurs on a spectrum. Some patients may only be triggered by certain tools or sounds, while others have anxiety so crippling that they can’t even set foot in the office. You are more likely to develop severe dental problems when you can’t get regular dental care.
With sedation, patients with dental anxiety can get regular dental care, avoiding more serious issues. It can also relax patients who require intensive procedures because they’ve neglected their dental care. Sedation is relaxing and keeps patients calm and more comfortable when they need to be in a dental chair for a long period.
But anxious patients aren’t the only ones that can benefit from sedation. We recommend it for anyone who needs intensive procedures or wants to get multiple procedures in one visit. It’s hard for anyone to sit extremely still in one position for a long time. Sedation helps control fidgeting and discomfort that can disrupt the procedure.
Other patients that benefit include patients with movement disorders. Dentistry uses sharp tools and requires intricate work in the mouth. If patients are moving during the procedure, it’s more likely that they’ll get a cut or other issues will occur. Sedation relaxes these involuntary movements so that treatment is safer and more comfortable.
Severe gag reflexes can make dental care extremely uncomfortable for patients. Frequent gagging can even lead to vomiting during treatment. Not only is it bad for the patient, but it means the reflex is fighting the dentist as they’re trying to treat the patient. Sedation makes dentistry more comfortable and easier for the patient and the dentist.
Sedation Dentistry What to Expect
As highly trained, experienced dentists, we are committed to helping our patients achieve beautiful, healthy smiles through the most effective and safe methods. During your appointment, we will explore your medical history and evaluate your smile before recommending the most appropriate sedation method for your needs.
Sedation dentistry is ideal for patients undergoing extensive restorative treatment, full mouth reconstruction, or other length treatment. Your dentist will explain all of your options during your appointment.
Conscious Sedation
Oral Conscious Sedation: Ideal for patients who fear needles, we administer oral conscious sedation as a pill. You typically take the pill one hour before your scheduled appointment. Patients remain conscious during their procedure. They can communicate with their dentist and often have little to no treatment memory. Patients will need to coordinate safe transportation to and from their appointments, as they cannot drive under oral conscious sedation.
Nitrous Oxide: Often referred to as laughing gas, we administer nitrous oxide through a nasal mask. The effects of nitrous oxide occur as soon as we place the mask over the nose. However, the results diminish once you remove the mask. Under nitrous oxide, patients are conscious but remain fully relaxed and can typically resume their normal activities after their appointment.
Sleep Dentistry Sedation
Intravenous Conscious Sedation (IV Sedation), often called sleep dentistry, can be utilized for a patient with extreme dental fear or receiving advanced dental care. Only a specially trained dentist or licensed anesthesiologist administers IV sedation.
The dentist administers IV sedation directly into the bloodstream, making it more efficient and fast-acting than other dental sedation methods. We measure the heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels to ensure patient safety and satisfaction throughout treatment. If necessary, your dentist can adjust your sedation levels throughout the treatment.
Our team at Advanced Dental Health recommends that patients undergoing IV sedation coordinate transportation from our dental office.
Our team at Advanced Dental Health is committed to ensuring our patients’ needs are met in a comfortable and pain-free atmosphere. We offer a full range of dental sedation options as a testament to that commitment. We want to help patients feel at ease and relaxed throughout their visit. We can recommend the most appropriate sedation option for your needs.