Why Sedation if Often a Great Option for Anxious Dental Patients in Croydon

Many people are worried and anxious when they think about having dental treatment. This can stem from many things, the main one’s being:

• Traumatic Previous Experiences
• The Fear of Pain
• Being worried about injections
• The fear of the unknown
• The fear of not being in control
• The gagging feeling that can be associated with impressions

Dental Sedation may be the solution for all of your worries.

What is sedation?

Sedation is when a powerful sedative is administered that helps you relax and calms you down. It’s so powerful that you are pretty much asleep during the procedure and you don’t care what’s going on around you. It’s not like general anaesthesia, where you are fully unconscious. You are still able to speak and listen to commands. This is much better as it is a lot safer, quicker and easier to perform. Once the procedure is over, we stop administering the drug and you regain consciousness.

What if I wake up during the procedure?

The drugs work very quickly, almost instantly and wear off slowly over a period of around 30minutes. We can see you getting more and more awake so you never just suddenly wake up. If we feel you need more, it’s easy to top you up and the best things about the treatment is that you won’t remember a thing. So you will just think you came in and went home!

What drug do you use?

We use Midazolam which is a short acting, Benzodiazepine. It comes from the same family as diazepam and valium.

How do you administer it?

It is administered through a vein, usually in your arm.

Will I get a hangover?

No, it’s not like alcohol. The effects wear off pretty quickly.

Is it safe?

Benzodiazepines are widely used drugs and have been around for a very long time. They are very safe and adverse reactions extremely rare. Your dentist will ensure you do not have any medical contraindications before prescribing it to you.

Do you have a lot of experience performing sedation?

Yes, our dentists have been using midazolam routinely for over 25 years with some very good results. It’s been perfect for anxious patients, particularly from involved procedures such as implants.

Is there any other important information?

You will need someone to pick you up after the procedure and look after you. You will probably feel sleepy and we recommend that you do not drive for 24 hours after the procedure. This also includes operating any heavy machinery, making important financial decision and anything that is deemed dangerous.

If you are thinking about getting sedation for any of our procedures please give our friendly reception team a call and we would be happy to book you in for a free consultation is discuss the procedure further.