Sedation Dentistry
Oral Sedation Helps You Relax
Roseville oral sedation for dental procedures ranges from minimal to moderate, and the pills work with local anesthetics to eliminate the pain and stress that many people experience when visiting the dentist. Unfortunately, some people have such high levels of anxiety and fear that they avoid seeing their dentists. Antianxiety pills and nitrous oxide, commonly known as happy pills and laughing gas, are the most frequently used types of relaxing agents.
Understanding Oral Sedation
Minimal sedation usually involves administering nitrous oxide or laughing gas, but many patients have deep-rooted anxieties about getting dental work or even having their teeth cleaned and examined. Even calm patients could have procedure-specific anxieties when facing complex dental procedures such as root canals, reconstructive dentistry or wisdom-teeth extractions.
We offer various drugs from the benzodiazepine family that act as central nervous system depressants. These drugs calm fears and often produce silly or giddy behavior, and advanced local anesthetics provide pain relief. Some patients actually fall asleep while in the chair, but gentle shaking usually wakes them. Most people don’t fear the dentist enough to need chemical fortification, but a significant number of people have fears, phobias and anxieties, so we offer Roseville oral sedation to counteract these emotions.
When Oral Sedation Is Used
We use these relaxing drugs primarily because some people would rather endure agonizing mouth pain than visit their dentists. You are not alone because other people suffer from this phobia about going to the dentist. However, gum disease, tooth decay and inflammation can affect your general health, so “sleep dentistry” provides a way to overcome your anxieties and get the dental work you need.
Candidates for Oral Sedation
Anyone who experiences extreme anxiety when visiting the dentist could be a candidate for Roseville oral sedation. Sedated dentistry also helps people who have the following conditions:
- Need extensive dental work
- Have sensitive teeth
- Experience a bad gagging reflex
- Have trouble sitting still
- Have low tolerance for pain
Children might be given oral sedation when small or terrified of the dentist. Usually, we prefer to use nitrous oxide for children, which is the safest way to calm an anxious child quickly.
Types of Drugs Used for Roseville Oral Sedation
Light Roseville oral sedation calms mild cases of anxiety, and breathing a little nitrous oxide helps you relax. Other common sedation drugs include pills from the benzodiazepine family such as Valium, Versed, Xanax, Halcion and Ativan. These are popular trade names, and the generic names for these drugs are diazepam, midazolam, alprazolam, triazolam and lorazepam. Some patients can take Ambien, a brand name for zolpidem, the night before their dental appointments to calm nerves. These drugs affect the nerve receptors in the brain that cause fear.
Of course, we always take your detailed medical history to determine any contraindications, allergies or possible interactions with other drugs. Roseville oral sedation drugs come in two basic categories: antianxiety and sedative/hypnotic. Antianxiety drugs calm fears and reduce stress while sedative drugs promote drowsiness, hypnotic states and even sleep in come cases.
Warnings and Contraindications
Oral sedation’s effects depend on how well you absorb the medicine. Having a full stomach could slow the effects, and your body weight, height, age and gender affect the optimal dosage. The placebo effect can also influence how effectively the drugs work.
All anesthesia carries some risks, and obese patients and those who have obstructive sleep apnea could be at greater risk. After having a procedure under sedation, patients should arrange for someone to provide transportation. If taking the pills before your dental visit, you should have an escort even if walking to your appointment.
Roseville oral sedation helps you enjoy going to the dentist by calming your anxieties, reducing blood pressure and ensuring that you get essential dental treatments that protect your teeth and general health. Of course, we monitor your vital signs at all times, and sedation is very unlikely to produce side effects when used properly. You have choices, so don’t let your fears and anxiety prevent you from protecting your oral health.
