Oral Sedation Dentistry Information

As I have discussed before, there are lots of different types of sedation dentistry options.  In previous articles I have touched a little bit on the oral sedation methods, the use of nitrous oxide to take you to your happy place, and the fact that IV sedation is available in different forms.

Today I am going to focus in a little a more on IV sedation.  My research on the Internet has revealed several things about this particular aspect of sedation dentistry.  First, it appears that there are very specific classes of drugs that they use when inducing this sleep-like state.  The brief research that I performed on this topic immediately revealed the following drugs that are typically used when performing sedation dentistry:

• Midazolam and Diazepam (benzos) – anti-anxiety sedatives
• Barbituates – based on my reading, these are not used heavily anymore.  It appears they have the potential for nasty side-effects…such as death.  Not good for business.
• Opioids – these, it appears, are used in addition to the actual “sleep” inducing agent, thereby helping to extend that duration of the sleep like state.
• Propofol – another alternative to the benzo drugs.

My experience with dental surgery did not allow for the use of any of these types of sleep-like state inducing drugs.  Due to the nature of my mouth surgery, I had to be put all the way under.  As I understand it, one of the drugs they swabbed my nasal cavity with had cocaine in it.  I will tell you this…it worked.  I started at 10, 9, 8,…and then woke up in recovery.

For me, the take away on this topic is that dental surgery is just like any other surgery.  Don’t simply assume that your sedation dentistry Austin expert knows what they are doing.  Ask questions…lots of them.  Ask about the procedure, and how it will be executed.  Take time to perform detailed research online so that you can be fully aware of what is included in the procedure, and what the risks are.  It pays to be informed.

If you have had experiences with an Austin sedation dentistry specialist, please consider leaving a comment.  Thanks, and good luck!