Our office is trained, equipped and licensed to offer sedation dentistry. You can restore your smile and enhance your confidence while you “daydream” your way through dental treatment.   Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about sedation dentistry.

1)   What is sedation dentistry?
Sedation dentistry allows you to reach a state of advanced relaxation during dental treatment, safely and predictably.  Medication is given intravenously.   IV sedation takes effect quickly and is the ultimate in predictability.

2)   What does it feel like to be sedated for dental treatment?
You are awake during sedation dentistry (this is why it is referred to as “conscious sedation”).  The feeling is something like “watching a movie” of yourself, or “daydreaming” through the treatment;  in other words, you feel removed from what is going on, while still aware when you need to be aware.  You can respond to questions, groan at a terrible joke, or laugh at a good joke or funny comment.   What is taken away is the sense of fear and immediacy that so many people feel during dental treatment, since the medication helps you feel relaxed and “removed” from the treatment.  The sensation is similar to having nitrous oxide, but is more profound.

3)   Is sedation dentistry safe?
Sedation dentistry, performed under the supervision of a specially-trained dentist, has an admirable safety record. While any treatment has potential risks, the risks of properly-administered sedation dentistry are quite low. The fewer medications that are used, the easier it is to track any potential problems. Our office uses only two types of medication. For extra safety, “reversing agents” are available that can counteract the sedating medications within a few minutes.

4)  What medications are used?
The IV sedation drug we use most is a benzodiazepine called Versed. It is related to valium but is much shorter-acting (that is, it wears off much more quickly). For longer procedures, we may use valium. We may also use a small amount of the narcotic Fentanyl if you can’t be fully comfortable with versed or valium alone.

5)   What will I feel like after my sedation visit?
The aftereffects of sedation dentistry are surprisingly few.  Some people feel tired after treatment.  What most people report is little or no memory of the actual dental treatment after the treatment is over (this is especially true a few days later).  For a dental phobic, this is an amazingly powerful positive experience.  People frequently experience far less post-treatment discomfort than they expect because the treatment itself is so much less stress-provoking that people expect.

6)   What sort of special training is required for a sedation dentistry permit?
The American Dental Association requires the completion of a 60-hour course.  There are stringent requirements for course content, including practical experience sedating patients, as well as extensive “classroom” instruction.  Most states follow the ADA’s 60-hour recommendation.  However, Pennsylvania’s requirements are even more involved, and require an additional 20 hours of training.  Comparatively few general dentists have fulfilled these requirements, so relatively few dentists can provide conscious sedation at this time.  Safety-monitoring equipment is extremely expensive.  Very few dentists are willing to invest the time and commitment to enable them to provide this service to their patients.

7)   Can I have sedation dentistry in your office if I have my own “regular dentist?”
Of course you can.  Each dentist uses his own clinical judgment to determine what treatment you need and what is in your best interest.  I would be happy to provide you with a comprehensive examination to determine what treatment you need and if you are a candidate for sedation dentistry.

Recent courses
I took a continuing education course in Sedation Dentistry in mid-August.  I’m a member of the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology, and ADSA always has up to date and thought-provoking information at its courses.
The course stressed all the ways in which a dentist can enhance the safety of  conscious sedation (“daydream dentistry”) and avoid potential problems with sedation patients.  As always, safety is the prime priority with sedation dentistry (or with any medical or dental treatment, for that matter).  Over 2500 years ago, the Greek “father of modern medicine,” Hippocrates, said that the first rule of medicine was “do no harm.”  That’s even more true today than it was then.