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Oral conscious sedation is used at Infinitidental Clinic for anxious, nervous and overwhelmed patients. We completely understand that some people have a fear of coming to the dentist. Therefore, it’s part of our responsibility to provide a way for patients to feel comfortable and at ease, during treatment. Conscious sedation is commonly used for treatments such as root canals, fillings, extractions and implants.
Although conscious sedation is effective and helps patients relax, it’s important make sure every patient understands how this works. There are broadly speaking three different stages of conscious sedation. The first stage is minimal, where you’ll feel relaxed but fully conscious. The second stage is moderate. You’ll start to feel sleepy here but you’ll still be responsive. The third stage is deep and you tend to fall asleep during treatment.
At Infinitidental Clinic, we always try to operate in the safest first stage. You will remain conscious during this kind of sedation. You may experience a temporary loss of memory during the time that you are sedated. Many patients have no memory of the procedure at all.
What’s The Procedure For Oral Sedation?
As previously mentioned, we take conscious sedation very seriously. Our teams of caring professionals take every measure to ensure you’re fully aware of the full procedure, the benefits and side-effects. Here is the procedure broken down for you:
- A private prescription for oral sedative medication will be provided to you by your treating clinician at the time of discussing treatment and planning stages. Well in advance of your dental visit, you can purchase the medication from the pharmacy on production of the prescription provided.
- The oral sedative is taken 1 hour before your scheduled appointment time.
- Patients must be escorted to and from the practice by a responsible adult who can take responsibility for you following your treatment. This person may need to be able to stay with you overnight. If arrangements have not been made for someone to accompany you after treatment, you will not be able to have the sedation.
- On arrival, as you normally would, you’ll sit in our comfortable dental chair. We’ll give you a few minutes to get settled to ensure you’re fully relaxed. We’re also open to any questions at this point, so we can put your mind at ease. Once you are sedated, if you have any questions or are unclear about having your sedation, then do not hesitate to ask your dentist
- Monitor Breathing – Our dentists will monitor your breathing, just to be on the safe side.
- Procedure Takes Place – the dentist can use local analgesia (pain relief that numbs the site of the dental treatment). Topical local anaesthetic paste is sometimes used to numb the site of the treatment. Any injections that you may need can be given through this numbed area to reduce the chance of any discomfort.
- You will spend some time in the surgery following your treatment where your recovery will be monitored closely.
How Soon Will I Recover?
Here at Infinitidental Clinic, we take the utmost care, when it comes to looking after our patients. Before you leave our practice, we’ll fully monitor and do our regular checks to ensure that you’ve gone back to your normal state. You are likely, very quickly, to regain control of your mental and physical faculties. Although it’s highly likely that you’ll be able to take yourself home after treatment, we must insist you have a responsible adult chaperone accompany you.
You may also feel unsteady on your feet for some hours after the procedure. Your ability to think clearly and make judgements may be affected for the next 24 hours. You may experience some forgetfulness. After the treatment your judgement may be affected by the drugs. This is similar to the effects of consuming alcohol. You should not drive a car, ride a bicycle or operate machinery until the following day. In some cases, this may be for as long as 24 hours. You should also not take responsibility for the care of others, use sharp implements or cook. It would be unwise to make any irreversible decisions for 24 hours following your treatment. Owing to the effects of the drugs used, care should be taken when using the internet for personal communication.
Before you are discharged, the dentist or dental nurse will give you and the adult accompanying you (escort) important information about your care. You will be given information relating to any local analgesia and treatment you have received. The dentist will also provide details of pain relief as well as how and when to take other prescription medicines. You will be given a telephone number of who to contact if you have any problems as a result of your treatment.
Contact Us Today
If you feel that oral conscious sedation could make a real difference to your dental treatment, we urge you to get in touch with us at Infinitidental Clinic today. Call us directly or simply use our online contact form to leave us your enquiry. Our experienced team will get back to you as soon as possible.