What is sedation dentistry?
ome people experience deep anxiety when thinking about going to the dentist. This can keep them from getting the preventive care they need, much less the restorations that could be necessary. That’s a shame because our Beverly Hills practice offers sedation dentistry to relax and calm our patients. In fact, we even have an anesthesiologist on-site just for our IV sedation. Sedation dentistry with Dr. David S. Frey makes it easy to keep your smile looking great. Sedation dentistry simply allows patients to relax while undergoing restorative and cosmetic dental procedures with Dr. Frey. Sedation enables patients to overcome various levels of anxiety, all the way up to phobia about even visiting the dentist. Plus, sedation allows you to group various procedures into a single office visit, making it a better use of your time. And in the end, you have little or no recollection about your visit.
FAQs about our Dental Services
If you want to learn even more, we invite you to reach out for a free high quality smile consultation, where we can answer all of your questions in depth.
I Still Have QuestionsCan sedation dentistry allow me to handle more involved appointments?
Another great thing about sedation dentistry with our PWS dentist is that it allows you to handle longer, more involved appointments. Often more complex procedures, such as smile makeovers can involve more time for your appointment, or could often require multiple appointments. When a patient is sedated, however, Our PWS dentist is able to perform more work in a single session and can work more efficiently.
Can I drive after sedation dentistry?
With either oral or IV sedation, you should not drive afterwards until the following morning.
How long does IV sedation last?
For some patients, IV sedation wears off almost immediately after the administration is stopped. For others, they can feel its effects for a few hours after their appointment is over. Patients shouldn’t drive or operate machinery until the following morning.
What is IV sedation?
PWS has an anesthesiologist who handles our IV sedation. This type of sedation is delivered intravenously. An advantage to IV sedation is that we can adjust the levels continually, for instance when your PWS dentist asks you to open or bite, you will respond.
What are the risks of oral conscious sedation?
The drug comes from the same family of drugs that Valium comes from. More people use these drugs than aspirin each year in this country. The biggest risk is that the drug is a respiratory depressant and you theoretically could stop breathing. We do everything in our power to make sure that would never happen. We have the anecdote on hand to reverse the effects of the drug. We monitor your vitals the entire time to make sure you are breathing nicely during your visit.
How long does oral sedation last?
The effect of oral sedation last from two to four hours after their appointment. You will need a ride to and from your appointment and no driving is allowed for the entire day.
What is oral sedation?
With oral sedation, a pill, usually similar to Valium, is given about 30 minutes to an hour before the start of your procedure. This will make you drowsy, but you’re still awake and you can still respond to certain directions from your PWS dentist.
What's the difference between sedation and sleep dentistry?
With both oral and IV sedation, the patient is always awake but sedated.
What types of sedation dentistry are offered at Perfect White Smile?
PWS offers two forms of sedation, oral sedation and IV sedation. Both methods deliver a relaxed twilight sleep, where you’re semi-awake but totally relaxed and feeling good. Both methods have an amnesia effect afterward,s where you don’t remember much about your appointment. Which we think is good. lol
Is sedation dentistry safe?
We do everything in our power to make sure your visit is as safe and comfortable as possible. We offer two types of sedation. We have a blue pill sedation which we call oral sedation and we have a dental anesthesiologist who administers drugs IV. We make every measure possible to assure your safety including the use of pulse oximeters, blood pressure etc. Whatever your choice, you will be as comfortable as possible during your visit.
How does oral sedation dentistry work?
We use a blue pill known as Triazolam. Its been used since the 1960's and is considered very safe and effective drug when administered by a trained doctor. It is a fast acting drug that is from the Valium family. It has a half life of only 2-3 hours so its out of your system in a day. It acts like an amnesic so time flies by quickly. It is also a hypnotic so patients feel safe and in control Patients take it 1 hour before your appointment and they must have a driver to take them and pick them up from their visit. Patients feel very drowsy by the time you arrive to their visit. We use a pulse oximeter during the visit and monitor your vitals. We always know that you are relaxed. We also have the antidote to the drug in case of an emergency which reverse the drugs effects.
Am I a candidate for sedation dentistry?
Patients can confuse sedation and pain relief. Our patients feel nothing during any procedure due to our anesthetic. PWS offers sedation, not for pain, but to help patients deal with strong feelings of fear and anxiety that arise when they visit the dentist. After receiving sedation and successfully completing their appointment, patients often change the entire way they view dental appointments going forward. Sedation could be a great option if you:
- Have difficult overcoming anxiety about the dentist
- Have a low pain threshold
- Have very sensitive teeth
- Have a very strong gag reflex
- Need a large amount of work done
Once you are sedated and comfortable, we then properly numb, or anesthetize, the area we are working on, ensuring that your procedure is as comfortable as possible.
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