When you’re faced with a dental procedure, it’s normal to feel nervous. Dental procedures evoke jitters because you can usually hear, feel, and see what’s going on just below your eyes. But you don’t have to worry; you can get sedated.

While Homo sapiens has walked the Earth for about 200,000 years, our most recent ancestors traipsed the planet for almost two million years before that. But it wasn’t until the last 14,000 years or so — after we switched from a hunter-gatherer diet and lifestyle to an agrarian one — that we suffered from significant tooth decay. Or even crooked teeth.

But here we are in the 21st century, and your teeth need some help. You may have a cavity or an infected root canal. Your wisdom teeth may have started to erupt and become impacted. Or you may have gum disease and require a deep cleaning.

Whatever the reason, your oral health can only be restored through a dental procedure. Though you’re no longer a hunter-gatherer, you still have the same fight-or-flight instinct and, right now, your instinct is telling you to flee.

Please don’t! Today’s dental procedures are not only pain-free, they can be jitter-free, too. Sedation dentistry eliminates pain and also keeps you calm.

At Advanced Dentistry in Sugar Land, Texas, our caring and expert cosmetic and general dentist Varghese John, DMD, wants you to get the oral care you need to stay healthy. That’s why we offer a variety of options to keep you sedated and pain-free during your needed dental procedures.

If you’ve never tried sedation dentistry before, it will change your attitude toward going to the dentist. You no longer have to dread sitting in the chair for long periods, or be afraid of pain. Before your procedure, we help you choose the sedation dentistry method that’s right for you so you can stay comfortable, relaxed, and pain-free while we heal or repair your teeth and gums.

Oral sedation

If you choose an oral sedative, you take it about an hour before your procedure so that it has time to work. Oral sedation is a type of conscious sedation, so it doesn’t directly put you to sleep. However, it makes you feel so relaxed and calm that you may actually fall asleep until after your teeth and gums have been treated.

You feel groggy for a little while after oral sedation. It’s important to arrange for somebody else to take you home because it’s not safe for you to drive.

IV sedation

Intravenous (IV) sedation also allows you to stay conscious, but it does make you sleepy. Many people drift off even as we work in their mouths, which gives you an idea of just how calm and relaxed you are. You do feel a bit of a prick when we first insert the needle, but you don't feel anything other than pressure after that.

As with oral sedation, you’re not safe to drive if you choose IV sedation. Be sure to have somebody come to our office to pick you up after your procedure. 

Nitrous oxide

Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is one of the earliest and most effective forms of dental sedation. You simply breathe in the gas through a mask. With nitrous oxide, you don’t just feel calm and pain-free, you may also enter a euphoric state.

Even though you’re completely awake with nitrous oxide, you’re so very relaxed that you may not remember the procedure afterward. However, nitrous oxide doesn’t make you sleepy. If that’s the only sedation you’ve had, you’re free to drive yourself home after it wears off.

Sedation helps with more than pain 

Sedation dentistry is more than just an anesthetic. It also calms your nerves so that any anxiety you might be feeling falls away. It’s an ideal choice for children or adults who have trouble sitting still or focusing for long periods of time. Choose sedation dentistry to manage:

• Anxiety
• Sensitivity to noise
• Inability to sit still
• Strong gag reflex
• Low tolerance for pain

Even if you’re having a relatively simple procedure, you may need sedation dentistry if you have a high tolerance to anesthetics. 

You don’t need to let jitters and fear get in the way of good oral health anymore. If you’re scheduled for a dental procedure, or if you suspect you need one, contact us to learn more about sedation dentistry. Call our friendly staff today, or use our online contact form.