Sedation Dentistry in Bardstown
Many patients can benefit from sedation during dental appointments— this option isn’t reserved for any specific treatment or procedure. Whether you are feeling nervous about an upcoming appointment, you have a strong gag reflex, or your scheduled procedure requires extended time in Dr. Walton’s chair, our sedation options can help keep you comfortable.
“Laughing Gas”
At Walton Family Dentistry, we offer laughing gas for patients who would like to be sedated during their treatment. This sedative is administered through a comfortable mask that is worn over your nose. Dr. Walton will adjust the flow of the laughing gas to ensure that the right amount is administered to keep you calm and comfortable throughout your entire procedure. Laughing gas gives patients a feeling of euphoria, though you will be fully conscious during your treatment.
Benefits Of Sedation Dentistry
Laughing gas is an ideal sedative option for many reasons. Since it is inhaled, there is no added obstacle of needles or a painful injection. Laughing gas takes effect almost immediately, and it will keep you feeling happy and relaxed throughout your entire treatment. Additionally, the effects wear off almost immediately after your procedure, which means that you can enjoy the rest of your day as you normally would once you leave your appointment.
Candidates For Laughing Gas
Laughing gas is a safe and effective way to minimize discomfort and manage pain. Most patients are good candidates for this sedative, though certain health conditions, such as bronchitis and emphysema, may disqualify you. To learn more about whether laughing gas is available for you during your treatment, give us a call to speak with Dr. Walton!
Oral Concious Sedation
Oral conscious sedation uses a pill-based sedative medication like Halcion or Valium to ensure that you feel comfortable, relaxed and safe throughout your appointment at Walton Family Dentistry. If you would like a deeper level of sedation than laughing gas, oral conscious sedation may be a great choice for you.
With oral conscious sedation, you will begin to feel groggy and drowsy about 30-60 minutes after you take your medicine, but you will still remain responsive and aware of your surroundings. It’s common for patients to fall asleep during their appointment, but we can still rouse you and you will be able to respond to commands during sedation.
Most patients experience anterograde amnesia as a result of oral conscious sedation. This means that you will forget most or all of what happened during your dental procedure. Once your appointment is over, you may start to experience some other side effects like a headache, nausea, crying, confusion, and sluggishness. These effects peak after your procedure, and will continue to wear off for about 4-6 hours after your operation.
The Benefits Of Oral Conscious Sedation
Compared to laughing gas sedation, oral conscious sedation has a more significant effect on your level of consciousness or responsiveness. You will remain mostly alert with laughing gas sedation, but oral conscious sedation will make you much less aware of your surroundings.
If you are very nervous or anxious about your dental appointment, this is a big benefit. You’ll likely sleep through your appointment, so you won’t feel as much fear or anxiety. This is especially beneficial for oral surgeries like the placement of dental implants or tooth extractions.
Oral conscious sedation is also easy to administer. You don’t need to breathe through a mask, unlike with laughing gas, and there are no needles involved. You’ll just have to take a medication in pill form. That’s it!
How To Prepare For Oral Conscious Sedation
You may need to avoid eating or drinking for a few hours before your appointment, to ensure that your sedative behaves predictably and won’t be affected by the food you’ve eaten during the day. Dr. Michael Walton and the team at Walton Family Dentistry will let you know the specifics before your appointment.
Unlike laughing gas, you cannot expect to be able to return to your day-to-day routine or go back to work after being sedated with oral conscious sedation. The after-effects are much more significant and last much longer. While laughing gas wears off in less than 5 minutes, it takes hours for the side effects of oral conscious sedation to wear off. Plan to take time off of work and spend the rest of the day relaxing and recovering from your treatment.
You also cannot drive yourself home from your appointment, as the sedative will impair your ability to drive and/or operate heavy machinery. You must bring another adult with you, into whose care we can release you after your procedure has been completed. If you do not bring an adult driver with you to your appointment, we will not be able to sedate you, and may need to postpone or cancel your appointment.
Want to know more about sedation in our office?
Hi everybody. I am Michael Walton of Walton Family Dentistry. A lot of patients tell us that they have a fear of dental treatment, and a lot of times that fear causes them to postpone their treatment until it becomes a lot of worse than it has to be. So we want to let you know that we offer oral conscious sedation. This allows the patient to have the dental work they want to have done in a manner where they have no anxiety. A lot of times they don’t even remember the process when it’s over. . If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at the office, or you can book an appointment online.
FAQs
Many offices provide various forms of sedation. This would include oral conscious sedation, nitrous gas, and full I.V. sedation.
Sedation deals more with anxiety rather than pain and still requires local anesthesia to “numb” the area being worked on. However, the more relaxed a patient is during a given procedure, the less discomfort they will notice. Also, in most cases, the use of oral conscious sedation and I.V. sedation provides an “amnesia effect,” which allows the patient to have a very limited memory of the procedure afterward.
The effects of oral sedation can take anywhere from 6 to 8 hours to wear off, depending on the drug. Another benefit of oral conscious sedation is not being able to remember the appointment itself.
Your dentist can use sedation during treatments. However, your dentist will begin looking at conscious sedation options first and consider your medical history along with current medications. This method is ideal for patients who feel anxious, nervous, or cannot sit still during dental visits.
