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Apprehension, anxiety or fear of "painful" dental treatments often prevents many patients from seeking necessary dental treatment. When patients are sedated, via IV Sedation, they are much more comfortable during their office visits. IV Sedation allows for long dental appointments. Procedures that usually require multiple visits can be accomplished in a single "sedated" visit. Patients are unaware of the passage of time, do not become apprehensive during treatment (a benefit to the doctor) and are usually rested and unable to remember any of the procedures.
Patients with a history of medical problems (i.e. high blood
pressure, heart disease) can be closely monitored during a sedated
procedure. These patients can usually tolerate treatment much
better because they are relaxed and less likely to experience
an adverse reaction.
Surgical procedures such as multiple tooth extractions, wisdom tooth extractions, implant surgery, gum surgery or root canals can be long, arduous and often stressful appointments. IV Sedation reduces the stress and discomfort that are associated with these types of procedures because the patient is "sleeping" and unaware of what is taking place.
Patients with gagging problems can benefit as well. IV Sedation depresses the gag reflex so the necessary dental procedures can be accomplished.
Local anesthesia, such as novocaine, are not always completely effective. Therefore, a dentist may have difficulty obtaining the total tooth numbness that is necessary to perform a particular dental procedure. IV Sedation can enhance the effectiveness of local anesthesia and thus eliminate the problem.
Sedation refers to a type of general
anesthesia that is very light and only alters the patient's
awareness of the procedures taking place. Since the patient
is not in a "deep" sleep, he/she still maintains their
own protective reflexes and needs no assistance in breathing.
As a result, this technique is considerably less risky than
a deeper general anesthesia. The types of medications used generally
cause a degree of amnesia. Typically, the patient usually does
not even remember that the procedure has taken place. This type
of sedation is usually accomplished with intravenous (iv) medications.
Orally administered medications are also available but, they
are often more difficult to control how deeply someone is "asleep"
and generally take a longer period of time to take effect. Therefore,
oral sedation is usually reserved for situations where only
a mild level of sedation is needed and the patient does not
require that they be completely unaware of the procedure only
a little more relaxed.
General anesthesia works on the central nervous system. (When you hear someone say that they were "put to sleep" for a procedure, they are referring to general anesthesia.) There is a wide range of how deeply someone can be put to sleep with these types of anesthetics. For major surgical procedures, a person is put into a deep sleep where they are completely unconscious and may even need a ventilator to help them breath. At the other extreme is a mild oral sedative such as valium. This, too, works on the central nervous system but creates a state of semi-consciousness for the patient. This is often referred to as "analgesia" or "conscious sedation".
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