What is Oral Sedation Dentistry?

Are you one of those people who would rather endure a toothache than visit the dentist? Does the thought of visiting a dentist take away your night’s sleep? If your answer is yes, don’t worry, you are not alone. There are many people who dread going to the dentists and would rather not have a treatment of their dental problems because of their fear. 

For people who avoid visiting the dentists due to their fears or anxiety, sedation dentistry can be a sure shot answer. Sedation can be utilized for a number of procedures ranging from tooth cleaning to invasive processes. Oral sedation sounds like a sweet dream where you lay back on the dentist’s chair or the appointment and wake up feeling refreshed and with a healthy tooth. That’s the magic of dental sedation!

Due to comfort, oral sedation is the most widely recognized and the most acknowledged by patients. It is frequently utilized for the administration of the low to medium anxiety and help the patient to have a peaceful night preceding the arrangement. The objective is to create an easy to deal with, relaxed, and a more agreeable patient who is simpler to oversee and not to deliver moderate sedation or pain control. Due to the soothing impact, regardless of how gentle, it is the obligation of the dental specialist to advise the patient regarding the need for a dependable escort to and from the clinic. Instances of oral tranquilizers utilized in dentistry incorporate benzodiazepines, for example, diazepam (Valium), lorazepam (Ativan), triazolam (Halcion), and midazolam (Versed); and non-benzodiazepines, for example, zolpidem (Ambien) and zaleplon (Sonata).

Benefits of Oral Sedation Dentistry

There are numerous advantages of Oral Sedation Dentistry:

1. Conquer Fear and Anxiety 

Regardless of whether a previous encounter has kept you dreaded from a dental specialist for a while, oral sedation can help you in dealing with your anxiety related to dental procedures. Oral sedation guarantees an agreeable, anxiety-free visit for patients who have a hard time sitting on the dentist’s chair. 

2. Simplicity of Treatment 

Regardless of whether you battle with a gag reflex or have delicate teeth or gums, sedation permits the dentist to perform dental systems without the anxiety you might be accustomed to encountering. With a relaxed and laid-back patient, treatment is simpler for both the patient and the dental specialist as it permits the patient to rest, empowering the dentist to focus exclusively on the methodology. 

3. Comfort and Rest

Feeling good at the dental specialist? It has been made possible with the help of oral sedation. Not only will it assist you with feeling great, but sedation dentistry also permits you to rest unobtrusively and smoothly during your treatment. Numerous patients discover their sedation dental experience gives a relaxing break from bustling life. 

4. Fewer Appointments 

Sedation permits a dentist to perform greater treatment in fewer visits. Regardless of whether you need a cavity-filling, treatment for sore gums, corrective techniques to brighten your teeth, or fix a chipped tooth, you’ll be stunned at what all dental treatments can be practiced while you are tranquilly-calmed. More broad strategies that typically require different visits might be finished in as meager as one encounter with the headways of sedation dentistry.

Who can perform Oral Sedation Dentistry?

Almost all dentists can provide you with minimal dental sedation, but a doctor must be specially certified to be able to perform an Oral Sedation Dentistry. This technique utilized advanced and complicated techniques that require the dentists to go through vigorous training and various programs in sedation dentistry to qualify themselves to perform the procedure.

Downsides of Oral Sedation Dentistry

Although this procedure is completely safe if done by a qualified dental expert, there are some minor disadvantages of the procedure which a patient must know before going through the treatment.

Not immediately effective: After being sedated, the patient will begin to feel the effects of the sedation drugs pretty quickly. With pill sedation, the effects don’t show up as fast, which is why it is suggested to take the sedative pill an hour or so prior to the treatment.

The sedation level is not easily changed: As it takes some time for oral sedation to kick in, so it also takes time to know if the dosage of the sedation is to be increased or not. Each person metabolizes the sedation pills differently, so it’s difficult to tell how long it will take for the sedative to be effective on a patient.

Can’t drive to the appointment: Oral sedation sedates the patients and makes them relaxed and laid back. This would make the patient unable to have motor controls, thereby making them unable to drive. This is why the patients are suggested to bring an escort who can drive them from their home to the clinic and then back home. The escort must be a reliable adult who can handle the patient when they are sedated.