Yes, your dentist can make you sleep during treatments. However, your dentist will begin to discuss conscious sedation options first. Conscious sedation involves the use of medications to help you relax during a dental procedure. It's ideal for patients who feel anxious, nervous, or who can't sit still during dental visits.
General anesthesia is the only true sleep dentistry option. Under general anesthesia, patients remain completely unconscious throughout the treatment process. This ensures total comfort and relaxation, even during the most advanced oral surgery. For your safety, your vital signs will be closely monitored throughout your treatment, and if you are at greater risk of complications, we may recommend that you have the procedure performed in a hospital.
Some patients assume that general anesthesia offers the best solution. However, it also has more potential side effects than the other methods, so you may want to consider a minor form of dental sedation. If your dental care provider mentions sleep dentistry, you're probably referring to general anesthesia. You may prefer dental sedation or sleep dentistry, but talk to your dentist about it first.
Mention any allergic reactions you have experienced in the past, especially to anesthesia, so that your dentist can make safe and informed recommendations. If you recognize yourself in any of these problem areas, consider asking your dentist about dental sedation. For example, your dentist may ask you to fast and not eat or drink anything for several hours before dental surgery. If you need to sleep fully during the procedure, oral surgeons can usually help.
However, if you postpone dental treatment because you fear pain or any other part of the job, sleep dentistry might be the best solution. Learn more about your sedation options in Dana Point, CA and get to know this sector of dentistry a little better. Because sedatives are meant to relax patients who are already anxious, dentists often offer options so that each patient can choose the least intimidating option for themselves. Stony Plain Dental Center, a member of 123Dentist, one of the largest networks of dental offices wholly owned by dentists in Canada, has been serving the Stony Plain community in Alberta (Canada) since 1999. If you are taking an oral sedative, for example, your dentist will prescribe the medication and give you instructions on how to take it.
Patients who fall asleep after dental sedation may wake up when the procedure is performed, while patients under general anesthesia will likely need to sleep without taking the medication before waking up. In addition, it is estimated that up to 50% of the population fears the dentist, and many of them sacrifice good dental health for that reason. Dentists usually administer local anesthetics with a short needle in several places along the gumline. However, a technique known as “conscious sedation” has replaced general anesthesia in modern dentistry.
