Anesthesia and Sedation in Adults
The process of extracting a tooth or any dental surgery can be an extremely uncomfortable and painful experience. However, your dentist or surgeon can use the right anesthetic to make this experience less difficult. The sedatives or anesthetics that are used in these cases usually help to relieve pain as well as anxiety and apprehension. The anesthesia or sedatives that need to be taken must be chosen with care. This is an extremely significant factor that needs to be kept in mind while analyzing the safety and effectiveness of each sedative as well as the instruments that need to be used during a procedure.
Dental sedation is used by dentists when the patient’s anxiety levels are high. These sedation techniques can differ according to the needs and requirements of a specific patient. One of the key functions of these sedatives is to make sure that those patients who experience any kind of phobia about the dentist do not avoid treatment entirely, which would result in various dental complications. Dental treatment is necessary for the comprehensive maintenance of an individual’s healthy lifestyle. There are four (4) major kinds of sedatives administered by dentists in order to stabilize a patient before and during a surgery. These include:
Intravenous Sedatives (IV) An Intravenous sedative will not provide relief of pain and therefore, additional pain killers need to be taken along with an IV sedative. These are anxiety-reducing drugs that do not put you to sleep. When an IV is administered, you are able to respond to your surroundings (i.e. the dentist’s instructions or questions). Mostly, it will induce a feeling of relaxation and temporary amnesia is also a possibility.
Nitrous Oxide Sedation – This is a sweet smelling gas that can be inhaled without any sense of discomfort. Administering N2O or Nitrous Oxide was one of the first methods used to relieve pain. Along with a heavy percentage of Oxygen, it becomes completely safe to be breathed in.
Oral Sedatives- Oral sedatives like diazepam can be given to a patient to help relieve anxiety. These can be taken by a patient on the previous night or 30 minutes before the appointment with the dentist. These sedatives, that are taken orally, need to be used in conjunction with local anesthetics as they do not relieve pain.
The different kinds of dental anesthesia include local anesthesia, general anesthesia and conscious sedation. In local anesthesia, topical anesthetics are applied in a localized area in the mouth where the procedure is about to take place. When the local anesthetic is injected, the nerves in that region are stabilized for the interim period and there is a numb feeling experienced. Local anesthesia is often used when cavities need to be filled, or tooth crowns need to be fitted.
General Anesthesia: In this procedure, sedatives are used for patients in order to induce a loss of consciousness for a temporary period. This is called deep sedation, which is used when a patient is about to undergo a complex procedure. This may be administered to children as well who have difficulty in remaining still long enough for a dentist to examine or treat an area.
Most of these anesthetics are administered under highly-controlled conditions and in the safest possible manner. A thorough knowledge of the kind of anesthetics to be used for a certain dental procedure offers insight into the process itself and thus, makes the patient more informed.
© 2008 DentalPlans.com, Inc.