Anesthesia is administered prior to a procedure to help dull pain or sedate a nervous or anxious patient.
Several medications are available to help create more relaxed, comfortable dental visits. Some drugs control pain, some help you relax, and others put you into a deep sleep during dental treatment.
The most common form is local anesthesia, meaning that it dulls pain in all or part of the mouth during dental work, but does not cause the patient to go to sleep.On occasion, patients undergo general anesthesia, in which drugs cause a temporary loss of consciousness. General anesthesia may be recommended in certain procedures, such as wisdom teeth extraction.
Sedation dentistry uses a combination of techniques, ranging from nitrous oxide or "laughing gas" to general anesthesia, to relax a patient during surgeries or otherwise uncomfortable appointments. For even the most severe dental phobias, there is no longer a reason to avoid the dentist altogether.
Your overall health, as well as physical and mental conditions you may be battling at the time, are important to be able to safely undergo certain types of sedation – especially in the dental office. Certain of these conditions may require clearance from a physician: cardiac disease, hypertension, diabetes and respiratory diseases should all be addressed prior to a given type of sedation.
1. Preparation – If you need local anesthesia, your dentist will dry part of your mouth with air or use cotton rolls. Then your dentist will swab the area with a gel to numb the skin.
2. Injection – Next, your dentist will slowly inject the local anesthetic into the gum tissue. Most people don't feel the needle. Instead, the sting they feel is caused by the anesthetic moving into the tissue.
3. After effects – An injection of local anesthesia can last up to several hours. After you leave the dentist's office, you may find it difficult to speak clearly and eat or drink. Be careful not to bite down on the area that is numbed. You could cause damage to yourself without realizing it.
Laughing Gas
Probably the most common form of sedation in the dental office is nitrous oxide, or "laughing gas." Also called inhalation analgesia – and used to alleviate pain when giving birth, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – nitrous oxide does not put you to sleep, and is effective at reducing your anxiety about a dental procedure. It is very safe and provided in most dental offices. Local injections of anesthesia, which are still used in combination with nitrous oxide, now see consistent effectiveness, and some are practically painless. Nonetheless, the gas can be administered by a machine to further reduce the discomfort of the injection.
Enteral Sedation
The next type of sedation comes in the form of a pill or liquid that you take orally. This is called enteral sedation. Like local anesthetics, oftentimes it is used in combination with nitrous oxide. You may still be awake, but not nervous about the dental work.
IV Sedation
Intravaneous (IV) sedation is another common method of anti-anxiety wherein the sedative is directly injected to a vein. This technique will allow the dentist to provide a deeper sedation, although you will still be awake but less aware of the procedure. The process requires recovery time after you leave the office.
General Anesthesia
General anesthesia is a form of sedation by which you will be asleep for the entire procedure. It is practiced using drugs that are directly injected into a vein, along with the possible inhalation of a gaseous anesthetic. A thorough recovery time in the office may be required before leaving.
