Sedation Dentistry

Sedation dentistry uses medication to help patients relax during dental procedures.

What Types of Sedation Are Used in Dentistry?

• Inhaled minimal sedation. You breathe nitrous oxide — otherwise known as “laughing gas” — combined with oxygen through a mask that’s placed over your nose. The gas helps you relax. Your dentist can control the amount of sedation you receive, and the gas tends to wear off quickly. This is the only form of sedation where you may be able to drive yourself home after the procedure.
• Oral sedation. Depending on the total dose given, oral sedation can range from minimal to moderate. For minimal sedation, you take a pill about an hour before the procedure. The pill will make you drowsy, although you’ll still be awake. Some people become groggy enough from moderate oral sedation to actually fall asleep during the procedure and are awakened with a gentle shake.
• IV moderate sedation. You receive the sedative drug through a vein, so it goes to work more quickly. This method allows the dentist to continually adjust the level of sedation.

Regardless of which type of sedation you receive, you’ll also typically need a local anesthetic — numbing medication at the site where the dentist is working in the mouth — to relieve pain if the procedure causes any discomfort.

At Mount Pleasant Dental Group, we offer Minimal Oral Sedation to qualifying patients.

Reasons why you would not be able to get Minimal Oral Sedation:

• Drug or alcohol dependencies
• High or Low blood pressure
• History of a heart attack or stroke
• Known blood clot
• Pregnancy or nursing
• Suffer from sleep apnea
• Other underlying medical conditions
• Medications prescribed by your family physician