Do you have anxiety associated with going to the dentist? Maybe you’ve had a bad experience or for whatever reason, you deal with intense stress about dental visits that prompts you to delay, avoid, or just skip them altogether. Well, avoiding necessary dental procedures or even just regular preventative care can lead to even worse dental issues. If left untreated, many dental problems only end up requiring more invasive care to remedy. So what’s the solution? Sedation dentistry and IV anesthesia offer solutions in certain situations for patients with severe anxiety surrounding dental work.
Keep calm and carry on with healthy teeth!
At our Chattanooga TN oral surgery center, we often use nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and IV anesthesia when performing our oral and maxillofacial surgeries. Ensuring our patients are comfortable and as relaxed as possible is extremely important to our team. Our oral surgeons provide a full range of anesthesia services safely, with the comfort of their patients always the primary goal. Our surgeons have completed full hospital anesthesia rotations, and together have delivered more than 30k IV anesthetics to satisfied patients in their care.
Both oral surgeons at Ocoee Oral Surgery are licensed to provide:
Local anesthesia
Nitrous oxide
Conscious sedation (or twilight sleep)
General anesthesia
IV Sedation– What is it?
When you have a consultation at Ocoee Oral Surgery about having a procedure done, your doctor will discuss options for anesthesia with you. Using an intravenous anesthesia involves administering the sedative through an IV. With this option, the patient will be sedated but still conscious.
Is there any pain with sedation dentistry?
No. You will not feel pain with sedation dentistry, as a combination of sedation and anesthetics keep you relaxed and pain-free throughout your oral surgery procedure. In fact, many patients leave without any clear memory of their treatment after again becoming fully conscious. It is not uncommon, however, for patients to feel drowsy for several hours after the procedure, and should not drive or operate heavy machinery.
IV Sedation vs General Anesthesia
General anesthesia involves administering the sedative via IV, and the patient is unconscious for the oral surgery procedure. With this option, the patient remains unconscious throughout the procedure while breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen levels are monitored for safety. This option is generally recommended for more invasive procedures, or sometimes for individuals with severe anxiety regarding the surgery.
Which is right for you?
Your oral surgeon will discuss your options for anesthesia with you in detail, and make recommendations for you based on the dental work or oral surgery procedure you need to have performed, your medical history, and comfort level. No matter what, our team is here to support you and help guide you to the choice that makes most sense for you specifically.
If you need to schedule an appointment with one of our Chattanooga oral surgeons, reach out to us today. We’d love to take care of you.