Our Surrey dentists want you to receive the dental treatment you need and deserve. If you suffer from dental anxiety or heightened oral sensitivity, dental sedation may be beneficial for you.
If you suffer from high levels of anxiety or oral sensitivity dental sedation may be right for you. Dental sedation can help patients to get through anything from routine cleanings to more invasive dental procedures and treatments.
Sedation requirements are assessed on a case-by-case basis by our dentists. The severity of the patient's anxiety or sensitivity dictates how dental sedation is used.
The four main types of dental sedation are:
- Minimal sedation: Minimal sedation causes patients to feel relaxed but still able to walk, talk and breathe normally. Patients will not fall asleep with this type of sedation.
- Moderate sedation: Under moderate sedation patients will feel drowsy but still able to talk, hear and respond. Patients under moderate sedation will require a local anesthetic at the treatment site for pain management. Once the procedure is complete, patients may or may not remember the procedure.
- Deep sedation: Under deep sedation patients are asleep and won't remember anything about the procedure. While under deep sedation a local anesthetic will be used for pain management at the site of the treatment.
- General anesthesia: This is the deepest level of sedation. Patients under general anesthesia will be unconscious (feel as if they're asleep) and won't feel any pain during the treatment. Reflexes will be absent and the patient will require assistance breathing.
Dental sedation may be right for you if you suffer from dental anxiety, general anxiety disorder, panic disorder, resistance to local anesthetic or unusually sensitive oral nerves.