Going to the dentist knowing you're about to have a procedure performed can be an anxiety-inducing event. Some folks are happy to tell the doctor to put them under, while others aren't thrilled about losing a sense of control. There are plenty of cases that call for sedation dentistry, and it's good to know whether yours might be one of them.
Procedures That May Be Painful
Subjecting a patient to a level of pain is somewhat implied in the dental trade, but pain levels can cross the line at which they cease to be manageable. For example, you might show signs of having deep canals prior to the performance of a root canal procedure. This means there's a sizable risk that you'll suffer severe nerve pain if you're still awake. It also creates problems for getting local anesthetics down into the root. Some individuals facing complex wisdom tooth removals may also have to be sedated, and that might be the case with people who are having a large number of teeth removed at once, too.
Difficult Patients
Children and even some adults can be prone to fidgeting behaviors. This isn't a great idea when a dentist is moving around with sharp objects and drills, and it's often necessary to sedate such patients for safety reasons. Similar concerns apply when patients have disorders that cause them to twitch involuntarily. Sedation generally speeds the process of doing work up significantly.
Dental Anxiety Disorders
While the normal solution is to provide a patient with a prescription for an anti-anxiety drug like diazepam, there are limits. Individuals who are already on certain medications may not be able to be prescribed such drugs. Likewise, anyone who has a history of substance use disorder should be upfront with their dentist about those issues in order to ensure alternatives are explored. Sometimes, sedation dentistry is just the simplest way to address complex problems regarding dental anxiety.
How Are People Sedated?
Administration of sedation is performed either an IV drip or gas. IV drips are generally reserved for lengthy procedures, such as radical extractions and oral surgery.
Nitrous oxide is the preferred method for sedating kids, although parents will be asked to sign off on waivers. If a child has to be dosed a second time, such as coming out from under sedation during a procedure, the parent will need to sign a second waiver authorizing further administration of gas.
Share24 April 2019
Hi, my name is Kevin Nelson and I want to tell you about my experience. I had a painful tooth so I went to see my dentist. After the examination, he said that I needed to have a root canal to save the tooth. I told the dentist to just pull the tooth instead and then he explained why that wasn't a good idea. He said that pulling the tooth would cause additional problems and then he told me what could happen. I didn't want any more problems, so the dentist did the root canal and I'm glad that he did. I wanted to write a blog to tell others about the benefits of a root canal and what to expect during the procedure. I hope that by getting the word out, other people won't make the same mistake that I almost did by getting a perfectly good tooth pulled.