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Intravenous Sedation Information
Fear of the dental experience has been demonstrated to be one of the most significant barriers to the delivery of quality dental care. When the stress of the dental treatment situation is combined with dental fears, some patients find themselves unable to successfully have dental treatment done. In our practice, the most common type of anesthesia used is local anesthesia. In most cases, this is the only drug agent necessary. Most patients tolerate the local anesthesia well, and they recognize this feeling of having their lip numb for a dental procedure.
As noted above, there are many people who require a different approach for various reasons. For the patient who fears the required treatment, I.V. sedation offers a way to have required dental treatment done in a non-threatening manner. Other patients who benefit are those who need surgical procedures or a very large amount of work to be done at one time.
For these situations, we use intravenous sedation because it is a very conservative and appropriate method of controlled patient management during dental procedures. Sedation is the calming of a nervous, apprehensive individual through the use of drugs, without inducing the loss of consciousness. This highly effective technique requires the introduction of drugs directly into a vein, and it has the advantage of giving maximum control to the treating doctor as well as giving comfort to the patient.
The patient is not placed under general anesthesia, for the patient’s protective reflexes are still in place, including the ability for the patient to maintain his own airway. Appropriate monitoring equipment is used during the I.V. sedation appointment. A pulse oximeter, an EKG monitor, and supplemental oxygen will be used during the appointment. The use of intravenous sedation has been a very effective tool in our practice for outpatient dental care in many different situations.
It is our hope that this discussion has helped with your understanding of the procedures that have been proposed for you. Please feel free to ask further questions if you have any concern.
Cosmetic Dentistry is a specialized field that requires extensive knowledge and experience to be done correctly. The Medical Center Dental Group in Houston, Texas brings all of that and more to the direct benefit of each and every patient we treat. Although we are located in the world famous Houston Medical Center at Scurlock Towers, we routinely see dental patients who travel from Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Beaumont and Midland Texas to see Dr. Dale Brant, Dr. Charles Campbell or Dr. Elizabeth O’Sullivan-Winslow for their cosmetic denistry services.
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