Types of Sedation in Daly City, San Mateo and Sunnyvale

What types of sedation do we offer?

There are 3 different levels of sedation that we offer.

Nitrous Oxide

This is commonly referred to as laughing gas. It is administered through a nasal mask that you breathe through your nose. It has a rapid onset (approx. 23 mins.) and since it is a gas there are no effects after the gas is stopped at the end of the procedure. Therefore patients are able to function normally without any side effects; including driving after their dental procedure. This is a wonderful level of sedation for those patients who have a slight fear or anxiety of having a dental injection. The typical experience that patients feel is an enjoyable buzz that makes them not care about having dental injections.

For more in-depth information regarding nitrous oxide Click Here to visit Dental Fear Central

Oral Sedation

Commonly referred to has the happy pill; oral sedation is where the patient is given a sedative-hypnotic drug just before their dental appointment. The most common drug is Triazolam (Halcion). It takes approximately 25-30 minutes for it to start to take effect and therefore you will be instructed to come to your appointment early. Halcion has a sedative effect that makes it a requirement for patients to have an escort to and from their dental appointment. Oral Sedation works well for patients that have a mild to moderate level of fear and anxiety and have had oral sedation dentistry in the past. One problem associated with oral sedation is that it can be a bit of a hit-and-miss affair. Basically, you don’t know how well the drug will be absorbed from the stomach. The inability to customize the amount of drug to give each patient titrate minimizes the advantages of oral sedation.

For more in-depth information regarding oral sedation Click Here to visit Dental Fear Central.

IV Sedation (Intravenous Sedation)

IV Sedation is when sedative-hypnotic and/or opioids (painkillers) drugs are administered into the blood system. The two most common drugs that we use are Versed (antianxiety and hypnotic drug) and Fentanyl (pain killer). The onset of sedation is within 20-30 seconds; however, the sedative effects can last for several hours and therefore it is a requirement for patients to have an escort to and from their dental appointment. IV Sedation works well for patients with any special needs as it is the only form or sedation that can be customized titrated for each patient.