Sedation Dentistry

Are you afraid of the dentist? You are not alone. Many adults and children suffer from fear of the dentist or dental treatments, often through past mismanagement resulting in pain and anxiety during dental treatments. Our West Hollywood dentist employs techniques to ensure that your dental experience with us is painless and relaxing.

Sedation dentistry is the use of sedative measures to quiet and calm a patient and to remove pain during a dental procedure. There are several levels of sedation available for use by dentists, and the method chosen for your procedure will depend on several factors.

For very minor procedures, sedation dentistry can be accomplished with oral drugs. These drugs have the least number of side effects of any method of sedation and wear off quickly. They provide relaxation and relief for procedures which may induce anxiety and minor pain.

A deeper form of sedation dentistry is inhaled gas sedation. The use of nitrous oxide and other gases for relief from pain and stress during dental procedures has been practiced for years, and many dentists still use these methods for dental procedures in which the patient needs to be relaxed and immobile for a period of time, but can still remain awake. These gases produce a feeling of well-being and calm but do not usually put the patient to sleep. The side effects of inhalation sedation methods are minimal but may last a bit longer than those of oral sedation.

For procedures which require a patient to be “asleep,” intravenous sedation dentistry methods are often used. IV methods require close monitoring and may not be appropriate for all patients. The dentist and surgical team use IV drugs for extractions or other invasive procedures which require the patient to be completely immobile. Side effects for this type of sedation can be longer-lasting, and some patients take a few days to recover from IV sedation.

Our dentist in West Hollywood has a wide variety of sedation methods available to help you remain pain-free and relaxed during all your dental procedures. Talk to Dr. Ghasri or Dr. Afar today about your sedation options for your next procedure.