Learning to Take Better Care of Your Family's Teeth

3 Types Of Dental Sedation For Painless Visits To The Dentist

It would be hard to imagine what dental visits would be like without sedation; maybe many people would rather stay with painful teeth. Sedation is one of the best medical innovations, enabling the painless performance of otherwise painful and traumatic medical operations. When you visit the dentist, the sedation lets you feel relaxed and comfortable when the dentist is operating on you. Sedation has had perhaps the biggest positive impact on dental health. It allows people of all ages, including children, to enjoy dental treatments. What are the main types of dental sedation

Oral Dental Sedation

Oral dental sedation is the most common type of dental sedation. It is also called conscious sedation. It is administered using a dissolvable oral pill, usually given the night before and one hour before the operation. You will be conscious during the operation.

The dental clinician calculates the amount of sedative needed for your visit based on factors such as weight, age, and physical health. Oral dental sedation is usually prescribed to people whose dental needs cannot be met using laughing gas. 

Laughing Gas (Inhaled dental sedation) 

Laughing gas is a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen. The dental clinician hooks up a small tube to your nose, which delivers laughing gas during dental treatments. The gas has a mild effect on you, making you feel relaxed and comfortable during dental treatments.

It is called laughing gas because it makes the patient feel elated, and many people will laugh when under its effects. However, the sedation offered by laughing gas is limited. Therefore, you may still feel some discomfort during dental procedures. Inhaled sedation services are used for light dental operations like teeth whitening. 

IV Sedation Dental Sedation

This type of dental sedation is administered through the veins to allow easy adjustment of the dose. It allows for a wider range of dental operations because the patient can be mildly unconscious to completely unconscious.

The dental sedation services calculate the dose depending on your weight and medical history. They also monitor you during IV dental sedation services to avoid risks that come with general anesthesia.

However, general anesthesia dental sedation is reserved for extensive dental operations like jawbone grafts. It leaves you completely unconscious throughout the dental operation. The dental sedation services administer a separate drug to make you conscious after the operation. You usually have to stay in the hospital after such operations for observation. 

Are you worried about your upcoming dental visit? Then, book an appointment with a dentist to learn all about dental sedation and how it will help your dental operations. 


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