Your Guide to Oral Conscious Sedation: Procedures and Safety
If you experience stress, fear, or anxiety while worrying about dental care, you're not alone. Feeling nervous, scared, or anxious about visiting the dentist is common, and there are a variety of sedation dentistry solutions available to help you access the care you need without worrying. These include holistic approaches to keeping calm in addition to pharmaceutical approaches. One of the most popular forms of sedation dentistry is oral conscious sedation.
Oral conscious sedation is a form of sedation dentistry that uses orally administered prescription sedatives to achieve a moderate level of sedation. With oral conscious sedation, patients can relax before, during, and after their appointments. Although very relaxed, patients remain conscious and able to communicate throughout their treatments while feeling extremely relaxed. Some patients feel so relaxed that they are able to doze off during their treatments. Additionally, with oral conscious sedation, patients' memories of their time in the dental chair are usually pretty fuzzy which helps to reduce anxiety after the appointment.
We often recommend oral conscious sedation in cases where light sedation with nitrous oxide does not provide adequate relaxation and deep sedation (administered intravenously) would not be appropriate. For patients with dental anxiety and other emotional concerns about receiving dental care, oral conscious sedation is typically the most popular and commonly recommended sedation dentistry option.
Oral conscious sedation can be used:
Yes, oral conscious sedation is safe for patients because our healthcare professionals take precautions and follow strict sedation dentistry safety protocols. To ensure our patient's safety, minimize the risk of adverse effects, and ensure proper dosing, we will request a thorough medical history and report of the patient's current medications and supplements (prescription and over-the-counter) before recommending oral conscious sedation.
Every patient is different and can react differently to oral sedatives. Depending on the patient and their history with sedative medication, we might prescribe a trial run for the patient to complete at home before their dental appointment. This is to ensure an effective dose is administered and that the medication has the desired, relaxing effect on the patient.
We monitor patients closely throughout their sedation dentistry appointments, using state-of-the-art equipment to ensure their safety and the effectiveness of treatment.
Our dentist will provide you with complete and thorough instructions for taking your medication, preparing for your appointment, and recovery.
On the day of your oral conscious sedation dental procedure, you will need to arrange transportation to and from your dental appointment because you will not be able to safely drive yourself. You should also arrange to take work off for the remainder of the day after your appointment, as you will be sedated, sleepy, and not able to make important decisions, operate machinery, or drive a vehicle under the effects of the sedative medications.
We typically recommend that patients take their medication about an hour before their scheduled dental appointment time. This provides enough time for the medication to take effect, helping you fully relax before and during your treatment.
After your dental examination, plan to spend the rest of the day resting at home. Every patient metabolizes sedative medications at a different rate and each type of prescription sedative has a different half-life (i.e. their effects last different lengths of time from two to six hours or more). The effects of the medication should be fully worn off after about 24 hours.
At Oyler Family Dentistry, we're proud to provide our patients with comprehensive care while ensuring their comfort before, during, and after treatment. If you experience dental anxiety, have a sensitive gag reflex, or need a particularly lengthy or invasive dental treatment, oral conscious sedation can help you address your dental health needs while feeling relaxed, comfortable, and at ease in the dental chair.
To learn more about oral conscious sedation and additional comfort dentistry and sedation dentistry options, we welcome you to contact Oyler Family Dentistry to request a sedation dentistry consultation today. We will be happy to answer your questions and help you determine the best treatment plan to help you get the care you need without fear, stress, or anxiety.
We look forward to meeting you. Call (812) 537-4272 or request an appointment online to set up your first visit. We’ll be in touch soon.