Contact Us
Contact Us

Patient Frequently Asked Questions

Is dental sedation/anesthesia right for me?
There are many reasons why someone may choose to receive anesthesia for a dental procedure. They may include the following: Dental anxiety, fears or phobias of needles, shots, dental equipment, smells, sounds, tastes, or sensations. Getting extensive dental work done that would otherwise require multiple or staged visits. Patients who had difficulty getting appropriately numb. Allergies to local anesthetics. Sensitive teeth or gums. Or if you simply wish to be relaxed or asleep during your dental procedure. Whatever your reason, we will work to provide you an exceptional dental experience.
Modern anesthesia is very safe due to sophisticated monitors, safer medications, and advances in training and education. While all types of anesthesia and procedures have some risk, you are very unlikely to have serious complications from anesthesia. Your highly skilled anesthesia provider has years of experience and has done thousands of anesthetics, and they will be watching over you from the start of the case until you are awake enough to prepare to go home. We will work with you and your dentist to make sure you are a suitable candidate for office-based anesthesia.
While any emergency in dental anesthesia is extremely unlikely, we are trained to deal with such emergencies and carry the necessary equipment in that incredibly unlikely event.
We have developed a screening tool with your dentist, and most patients do not need to see their doctor prior to their procedure. In some cases, we may need more information about your medical history prior to scheduling.
You should show up on time or a little bit early. We will take a few minutes to verify with you that you have not had anything to eat or drink that day, that you are not experiencing any significant changes in your health, and then do a brief physical exam. We will explain the type of sedation/anesthesia we will do that day and answer all your questions and consent you for anesthesia. Once in the procedure chair, monitors and oxygen will be applied and an IV started and anesthetics administered through the IV.
During your procedure, we will closely monitor you according to the guidelines of the American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) and the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA). This includes monitoring your heart rate, electrocardiogram, blood oxygen level, blood pressure, breathing, and temperature if needed.
We will stay with you during the entire procedure. You will be our only patient and have our complete attention until you are ready to be discharged.
When the procedure is over, most patients will wake from the sedation quite quickly. We will stay with you until you have sufficiently recovered from the anesthesia and can safely go home.
When you receive IV sedation, a responsible adult must drive you home. We require that a responsible adult is available to watch over you at home until you have fully recovered, and that you do not drive, drink alcohol, or make any important decisions for 24 hours following your procedure.
Intravenous (IV) sedation for your dental procedure consists of starting an IV line in your vein, and administering carefully selected medications to keep you calm and comfortable during your procedure. This will dramatically reduce the discomfort and anxiety associated with dental procedures and in most cases, you are unlikely to recall much, if anything at all, about the procedure (about a 5% possibility of recall). However, your depth of sedation during the case will be such that we will be able to talk to you and wake you from your sleep relatively easily. For many people, this is all that is required.
Anesthesia is achieved when the patient is given medications that render them unconscious. Patients under anesthesia almost never have recall, are completely asleep during the procedure, and will feel nothing. Both types are very safe. Some dental procedures and medical conditions may make one or another safer for your particular case, and we can work with you to determine which would be best to keep you safe and comfortable.
We find that most IV sedation patients have a pleasant experience. Unsurprisingly, the most common side effect is some grogginess after the procedure that dissipates over a few hours, or even sooner.
If you receive a relaxing oral medication to take before coming to the office, you may be forgetful for a large portion of the day. This is normal.
If you have had problems with anesthesia before, please let your dentist and anesthesia provider know.
Generally, yes. The notable exceptions to this may be certain blood thinning medications, some blood pressure medications, and insulin. If you have questions, please call or email us prior to your procedure.
If you take medications for anxiety, we would generally encourage you to take the regular dose of that medication the day of surgery, unless the dentist has specifically prescribed something different.
Most patients can safely take Tylenol the night before and morning of their procedure with a small sip of water. This may help considerably with the discomfort after the procedure.
Send us a message via phone or email, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!
Contact Us