Safe Sedation Dentistry in Houston

Feel nervous about visiting the dentist? So do a lot of other people.

It’s common to have phobias about visiting medical facilities, but it’s important to remember that whether you’re in a hospital or a dentist office, you’re there to feel better. Or at the very least continue being healthy with periodic checkups.

However, if you’re one of the millions of Americans that isn’t fond of the dentist, sedation dentistry is just what the doctor ordered.

Origins of Sedation Dentistry

The first recorded uses of successful sedation dentistry date back over a century and a half ago. Doctor William T.G. Morton used a sulfur-ether compound on a live patient at Harvard University in front of an audience of students and doctors back in 1846.

The surgery was a rousing success thanks to the effects of the sedation, but these results were spurred by an even earlier example, used by a dentist.

Horace Wells attempted to use nitrous oxide in a similar experiment a year earlier, but was unsuccessful. He did not have the dosages correct and as a result, the patient remained conscious and aware of sensation.

Little did he know, despite his failure, nitrous oxide would become one of the most common methods used in sedation dentistry.

Nitrous Oxide Sedation Dentistry

Often referred to as laughing gas, nitrous oxide has a curious effect on patients, causing them to relax and feel at ease, despite being in a situation that might otherwise cause them anxiety.

Unlike Dr. Wells, today’s dentists are quite adept at adjusting the dosages of nitrous oxide, often adjusting them on the fly while they work. This is all in an effort to keep the patient conscious, while simultaneously dulling their senses to a point where pain becomes little more than an aware presence of a minor sensation.

The primary benefit of nitrous oxide is to not only reduce sensation but also to calm the patient. While agitated or fearful, a patient is more likely to make sudden movements as reflex actions, which can cause a procedure to be prolonged or halted to protect the patient.

While under the effects of nitrous oxide, the patient is more likely to lie still and allow the dentist to continue unimpeded.

IV Sedation Dentistry

For more involved dental procedures, the patient may need to be brought to the edge of consciousness. IV sedation reduces the sensation of all feelings, nearly to the point of not feeling them at all, and has a very profound effect on a patient.

Just like with nitrous oxide, the IV sedation dentistry is continually monitored and adjusted so the patient is right on the edge of consciousness. In some cases, the patient is barely conscious so that we may give them instructions, or they may be barely unconscious, so that we can complete a lot of work in a single session.

In either case, IV sedation can really calm a patient, eliminating fear and greatly increasing their pain tolerance.

Safety

As we mentioned, both gas and IV sedation dentistry are continually monitored to adjust dosages on the fly.

Both forms of sedation are safe for adults and children alike, though for use as a kids dentist in Houston, the anesthesiologist must be board certified in pediatric anesthesiology, which is more stringent than the adult counterpart.

No matter how heavily a child or adult is sedated, a simple nudge of the shoulder is often enough to wake them.

After a dental procedure with sedation dentistry, the most common side effect is grogginess, which can last up to a couple of hours, so it’s best not to operate any machinery in this time.