A Solution for Those Who Are Fearful of Dentistry

Intravenous conscious sedation (also known as IV sedation) is when a drug is administered directly into the blood system during a dental procedure, in order to reduce the patient’s anxiety. During conscious IV sedation, the patient remains awake and can answer requests from the dentist. As you may read at Schoettger Orthodontics the patient may not remember the procedure, however, because the sedation induces a state of deep relaxation.

This gives the patient a care-free feeling, despite undergoing a dental procedure. Also, IV sedation produces amnesia effects from the period of time that the sedation takes effect until it wears off. Patients who undergo sedation dentistry have a sense of time passing quickly, or they may believe they slept through the procedure. Some patients don’t want to remember anything they experienced during the procedure, so the amnesia effects are often welcomed.

The word “intravenous” means the drug is administered into a vein. Many patients are nervous about needles, but we use a very thin needle that is inserted into your arm or the back of your hand. The tiny needle is wrapped in a soft, plastic tube. We remove the needle, leaving the tube in the vein throughout the procedure.

During your appointment, a harmless device called a “pulse oximeter” is clipped onto your finger or earlobe, and it’s used to monitor your pulse and oxygen levels. IV sedation is quite safe when it is performed under the direct supervision of a specially trained dentist like ours. If you are afraid when it comes to sitting down in the dentist’s chair, then sedation dentistry is a great solution for you. Come and visit us. We’ll take great care of you.