There are several dental sedation options in Apollo Beach to ensure that patients — adults and children alike — are protected from pain and completely relaxed during dental treatment. Here are the three most common types of dental sedation options offered, and how quickly they take effect and how long they last.
Laughing gas
Laughing gas (nitrous oxide) is the lowest level of sedation dentistry available from a pediatric dentist near you. Nitrous oxide has inhaled through a mask placed over your child’s nose. It produces a feeling of relaxation and even giddiness. Some people describe feeling a tingling sensation while inhaling nitrous oxide. Laughing gas begins to take effect within a minute or two of beginning to inhale it through the mask. Your son or daughter will wear the mask throughout their treatment to ensure they remain relaxed at all times. The effects of nitrous oxide disappear very quickly — within a few minutes —after inhalation of the laughing gas stops and is replaced with pure oxygen.
Oral sedation
Oral sedation is administered through a pill taken before your procedure begins — sometimes an hour before your procedure and sometimes even the night before. There are several drugs that your pediatric dentist in Apollo Beach FL will choose from depending on any allergies, prior experience with sedation and the level of treatment being performed: Diazepam (Valium), Triaxolam (Halcion), Zaleplon (Sonata), Lorazepam (Ativan), Hydroxyzine (Vistaril) and Midazolam (Versed). Oral sedation drugs used for children typically begin to take effect within 20 minutes.
As a rule of thumb, patients who undergo dental treatment under oral sedation should allow a full 24-hour period for the effects of sedation to completely wear off. Younger patients in good health will metabolize the sedative drugs faster than older patients.
Intravenous (IV) sedation
Intravenous sedation involves the administration of drugs through a vein in your arm. Patients who will undergo treatment with the assistance of IV sedation usually fall asleep within 15 to 30 minutes of the IV being started. After the IV is removed from your arm after treatment is completed, patients require approximately 20 minutes to awaken. The effects of the sedative drugs will linger in part for approximately six hours. While those are good general guidelines, each drug is different. The drug midazolam — used for both adults and children — is also used for IV sedation and begins to take effect within two to three minutes while producing sedation that will last between one and two hours. Propofol — also used for children and adults — is another drug administered with an IV. Propofol begins to take effect within less than two minutes, but clears the body so quickly that it is administered throughout treatment (like nitrous oxide) to ensure you or your child remains under its effect during treatment.
Anesthetics
Local anesthetic isn’t a sedative drug per se, but is used along with sedative drugs to minimize discomfort, stress, anxiety and fear. Even patients not receiving sedation will be administered anesthetic to completely numb the area being treated to ensure there is no sensation of pain, though patients may still feel pressure, sense movement and hear sounds. Local anesthetics can be administered by an extremely fine needle or even by a liquid or gel applied to your gums and teeth. They typically take effect within minutes and no treatment will be performed until the area to be treated is completely numbed. The numbness produced by local anesthetics typically lasts for between four and six hours, though you may still feel some tingling even 24 hours later.
If you’re concerned about your comfort or your child’s ability to withstand treatment without experiencing anxiety or fear, ask your dentist to recommend the most appropriate available sedation options near you to make treatment as pain-free and comfortable as possible.