Oral sedation dentistry is the most common technique used in the United States to quell patient fears. The technique is easy and requires no needles. Best of all, the medications create such a comfortable experience that most patients do not remember the visit; it is as if they slept through the treatment. In reality, oral sedation dentistry maintains a level of consciousness in the patient for safety and cooperation.

Nitrous oxide, also called “laughing gas”,  is one of the most common types of sedation dentistry services that we offer. Since nitrous oxide provides an extremely light conscious sedation, it allows you to relax while still being completely aware of everything going on around you. Laughing gas is fast acting and quickly reversible, with no lingering drowsiness. You can resume your normal routine in immediately.

Intravenous (IV) sedation is a procedure used to establish a relaxed, easy and calm state through the use of sedatives. Also referred to as deep conscious sedation, it is a very safe and effective technique to calm people with extreme dental anxiety.

With IV sedation, sedative drugs are administered directly through a vein in the hand or arm, so it goes to work very quickly. This allows the dentist to continually adjust the level of sedation, allowing unprecedented control over the relaxation levels, combined with profound amnesia. Depending on the amount of sedative you receive, you will feel extremely relaxed, drowsy, or you may fall asleep completely.

This type of sedation requires a responsible adult to drive the patient to and from their appointment, and spend some time with them afterward until the sedative wears off completely. In addition to the IV, the dentist will typically use a local anesthetic, or numbing medication at the site to alleviate the pain of the procedure. Because the patient is in an extreme state of relaxation, it is possible for the dentist to achieve years worth of dental work in a single visit.