Sedation Dentistry

are you a little nervous about going to the dentist and you want anesthesia but you're not sure about which type you're supposed to get let's talk hi everyone my name is whitney and i'm a dental hygienist here to talk about the five different types of dental anesthesia and if you're about to plan a pretty big dental procedure or you're generally nervous about seeing the dentist in general i will link my dental anxiety video in the description box which can really help give you techniques on how to handle the nerves especially if you want to avoid anesthesia but for the purpose of this video let's talk about each dental anesthesia side effects and understand how each one works to help you select the best type of sedative for your specific circumstance let's start with number one local anesthesia this is the one that everyone gets even if you're not nervous you have no dental anxiety we still like to numb you up for cavities crowns etc anything that would be otherwise uncomfortable if we didn't so then you won't feel anything and it's super easy and straightforward local anesthetics are the numbing medication the injection the shot that your dentist gives you before specific dental procedures this medication deadens the nerve endings preventing you from feeling any pain or discomfort for at least a couple of hours most likely the only thing you might notice is a little bit of pressure so you might still feel where they are working but you won't feel what they are doing the most common side effect of local anesthesia is soreness and swelling some people sometimes experience rapid heart rates depending on their medical condition so always be sure to go over your complete medical history including any heart medications or conditions that you have so we can appropriately and safely administer the local anesthetic for you number two nitrous oxide aka laughing gas i actually have a whole video all about laughing gas if you want to get into the details about it but a quick recap on nitrous oxide is that this is the stuff that will help you relax without knocking you out it's often called laughing gas because of the light-hearted tendencies it encourages this lighter sedative is fast-acting and quickly reversible you can totally drive home right after you breathe it in through your nose and during your appointment you'll remain alert but you'll probably feel as if you've had a couple glasses of wine you'll be chilling it's true that way you can still answer any questions or follow instructions but you won't care much about what's going on around you laughing gas is safe for all patients of all ages and again with lap and gas you will still have local anesthetic as well because laughing gas doesn't numb you it only makes you feel relaxed so for people who are worried about the local anesthetic lots of people get stressed about getting the shot number one that we just went over local anesthetics if you request nitrous oxide as well have them put that on your nose first then you'll be loosey-goosey during the shot you won't even notice you're getting a shot three oral sedation oral sedation is frequently used for squirmy kids or adults who just want to take the edge off and not remember anything about their appointment it's a mid-level sedation option that's stronger than laughing gas but it doesn't involve iv sedation so it's pills or liquid if you're a child you'll be prescribed to take this medication by mouth about an hour before your plan procedure and it will gradually make you feel sleepy or daydreamy and it also doubles as an amnesic medication though you're less likely to remember anything about your visit the sedative lasts a few hours before it starts to wear off you will need someone to drive you to your appointment if this is the type of anesthesia that you're using number four iv sedation also known as twilight sedation this is a step up from oral sedation this is iv sedation or as a lot of people call it twilight this type of dental anesthesia uses medication delivered through an intravenous iv line in your arm allowing it to work quickly and predictably for the desired length of time it lasts for as long as you need it to whereas oral sedation only lasts one specific length of time but you still can't drive after this one you need someone to be your dd twilight affects everyone differently some people are totally asleep some people are kind of awake but not really they don't really remember everything they might think they remember everything but you're kind of like you're just hanging out again iv sedation is extremely common for oral surgeries like wisdom tooth removals if you've had your wisdom teeth out you've probably experienced twilight not that kind i just couldn't resist and number five lastly is general anesthesia all right so in most cases you're probably not going to have general anesthesia in a dentist's office however some offices especially oral surgery offices they may have a visiting anesthesiologist for large cases like full mouth rehab or multiple implants or if you're taking a child to the hospital to meet their pediatric dentist for a complex treatment case general anesthesia uses a combination of medications that make you feel completely asleep for the duration of your appointment this is the one where you're put under and won't feel any type of anything because your body and mind are both completely unaware to what's going on we try to avoid this one because you don't want to fully go under too many times in your life in all your dentist is your best resource when it comes to choosing the right dental anesthesia sedation for your situation but one extremely important thing to keep in mind is to always be truthful about your medical and health history if you are using recreational or prescription drugs it's super important for dental providers to know this so they can properly treat you with the right types of anesthesia i hope this video helped you 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