Sedation
dentistry allows you to be sedated just enough to be pain free
and unaware of the treatment, as if you were relaxing. That
is why it is normally referred to as conscious sedation dentistry.
So if you have sensitive teeth, a fear of dentists, have a bad
gag reflex, hate needles, or have limited time to spend on dental
care at the dentist, Sedation during dentistry procedures can
help you.
Whatever
the case may be sedation by your dentists can help you be more
anxiety free during your dentistry treatment. Your dentist's
ultimate goal is to make your visit to the dentist a relaxing
and enjoyable one. Since you are completely comfortable, relaxed,
and pain free your sedation dentist can do years of dental treatments
in one or two dental visits.
With sedation your dentist can restore sore gums to good dental
health, fix a chipped tooth, replace crowns or dentures, whiten
yellow or stained teeth, and more. All pain free.
Valium
In
our office, we used diazepam (Valium®) and meperidine (Demerol®)
for many years, which are excellent medications for lowering
the level of anxiety, for giving a feeling of euphoria that
seems to be needed in erasing some of the prior negative conditioning,
or, if necessary, bringing about amnesia: forgetting the entire
appointment. Recently, oral triazolam (Halcion®) has become
very popular with sedation dentists. It also has a high level
of safety and wears off more quickly than diazepam, and thus
is more convenient for patients.
Sometimes,
with very high levels of anxiety, patients, in spite of very
adequate levels of sedative, still cannot seem to endure the
dental treatment. However, after the appointment, they may not
be able to remember the appointment. The treatment then is successful
in their mind and this successful experience works for their
benefit by reducing their anxiety in subsequent appointments.
Often, patients with memories of traumatic dental care, after
a few appointments with sedation, are able to move away from
the sedation. With a few successful dental appointments under
their belt, the doctor can lower the level of sedation so that
they remember the appointments with greater and greater clarity,
until they no longer need sedation.
Oral
sedation with the proper medications has an excellent safety
record. Valium® by itself is extremely safe, even in large doses.
Hoffman-LaRoche, the manufacturer of Valium®, has data on file
showing patients who have taken up to 2000 milligrams (that
would be the equivalent of two full bottles of 10 mg. tablets)
in attempts to commit suicide, and no rescue medications or
other rescue measures were needed, because vital functions were
not adversely affected. Triazolam is of the same drug family,
and is also extremely safe. Nevertheless, as a precaution, most
dentists using triazolam or diazepam employ monitoring equipment.
