What is dental sedation?

Dental sedation involves giving you medicine to help you relax and prevent pain during dental treatment.

If you have dental anxiety and it’s preventing you from getting treatment, whether that’s replacing a missing tooth, a hygienist clean, or having an extraction, sedation can help.

If you have a strong gag reflex, require complex treatment, or have a low pain threshold and topical local anaesthetic isn’t enough, sedation may also be suitable.

IV sedation

IV (intravenous) sedation is sometimes called ‘sleep dentistry.’ You won’t be put to sleep, but you’ll have reduced awareness and feel relaxed and sleepy, making treatment more comfortable. The procedure involves injecting a sedative drug via a plastic tube, into a vein in your hand or arm.

Pros:

• You’ll experience minimal to no pain
• Significantly reduces anxiety
• The effects can last longer, so multiple treatments can be performed in one appointment
• You won’t remember the treatment when waking up

Cons:

• You’ll be unable to drive temporarily
• In some cases, side effects could include headaches and nausea