Ask the Dental Experts
Our philosophy is to help our patients achieve and maintain exceptional dental health. We work hard to make sure that our level of care is deserving of our patients’ respect and confidence. Our tradition of preventive dentistry is the basis for all service and care in our practice. We welcome all questions and comments regarding dentistry in the hope that we increase your dental "IQ" and help you make better dental health decisions.Monday, April 10, 2006
IV Sedation
Q: I have a broken molar and only the root is left into my gum and was told to extract the tooth that IV sedation is necessary. Is there anything to worry about doing this and does it make one sick when the patient wakes up to go home? Will I feel any pain while sedated when the doctor is working on me?
A: There are times that we cannot save a broken tooth and it must come out. This can be done with local anesthetic alone, or it is often done with the use of intravenous sedation (IV sedation). These are choices you have to make with your doctor. It may be recommended because of the difficulty of what needs to be done, or IV is used oftentimes when the patient is fearful and would rather not remember the experience. Both methods are correct - depends on what YOU want.
IV sedation is routine and quite safe. Although it is possible to feel sick afterwards, every effort is made to include medicines that will help avoid nausea afterwards. Local anesthesia is also used when IV sedation is done -- you are numb and have a foggy recollection of what was done.Depending on your overall treatment plan, you can also consider having an implant placed at the time of extraction. If other work is needed, this could also be done to take advantage of the IV time - we often have long appointments and do a variety of treatments at the same appointment. You should consider having a complete exam and then decide whether more comprehensive care is indicated.
Please feel free to contact us further by email, or you can call our offices at 713-795-5905.
Check out these websites - lots of information here also!
http://www.mcdg.biz/sedation.asp
http://www.mcdg.biz/imp_single_tooth.asp
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