Sedation Dentistry Treatment

Sit back & relax

Sedation dentistry is provided to patients who find it difficult to undergo routine dental care due to high anxiety or fear. This procedure can help to reduce both anxiety and discomfort during your appointment. Sedation is generally provided in the dental clinic via the administration of medication at the beginning of your appointment.

Although anesthesia is available for all forms of treatment, examinations and x-rays are typically completed in the absence of sedation. The involvement of the patient is necessary in the diagnostic and treatment planning stages of care.

Is sedation dentistry safe?

Before deciding on a sedation option, your dentist will take a comprehensive health history and check your vital signs (blood pressure, pulse, and respiration) to ensure they are selecting the safest option for you.

Our team in West Edmonton has advanced training to support our patients when dental care is being provided under anesthesia.

During our sedation appointments, we will always monitor blood oxygen level, blood pressure, and the pulse of our sedated patient.

Don’t ignore your oral health—we have options to make dental work more manageable for you.

Who can sedation dentistry help?

You and your dentist will need to decide if you are a candidate for sedation dentistry based on your medical history and your level of anxiety around dental work. You should make clear to your dentist if you’ve had any allergic or adverse reactions to anesthesia in the past so your dentist can make a safe decision about how to proceed.
Sedation dentistry is ideal for patients who are in reasonably good health and have:

• A high fear of dental procedures or needles, known as dental phobia or dentophobia
• Had a traumatic dental experience in the past that creates anxiety during appointments
• A history of resistance to local anesthetic, requiring higher doses for pain management
• A very sensitive gag reflex that interferes with dental treatments
• Extremely sensitive teeth that cause pain during routine procedures
• Complex dental problems requiring lengthy treatment sessions
• A small mouth that is hard for a dentist to work on, limiting access for proper treatment

If any of these issues apply to you, you should consider asking your dentist about anesthesia and sedation dentistry. Please keep in mind that patients with certain medical conditions or on certain medications may not be suitable candidates for sedation dentistry due to potential health risks.

What are some benefits of sedation dentistry?

If you’ve been avoiding dental care, sedation dentistry, a specialized approach that uses medication to help patients relax during dental procedures, can offer many benefits to you as a patient and to your dentist during the procedure because it:

• Lowers the anxiety you feel and keeps you relaxed during the procedure by suppressing your nervous system’s stress response
• Promotes comfort and cooperation between you and your dental care provider throughout the treatment
• Gives the dentist more control of their movements due to reduced patient movement and improved access to the oral cavity
• Helps to control the gag reflex, which is particularly beneficial for patients with sensitive oral triggers
• Permits greater treatment to be completed with greater comfort during the procedure, often allowing multiple procedures in a single visit
• Can be adapted to your specific case through various sedation levels (minimal, moderate, or deep) and sedation can last from 2-6 hours depending on the method used and your individual needs