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We will give our patients a prescription to take an hour before their appointment to be taken on an empty stomach. The patient must have someone drive to and from the appointment. The sedation can be made more intense if needed by using nitrous oxide (also known as laughing gas).
Commonly called laughing gas, nitrous oxide relieves anxiety, but the patient is aware of surrounding activities but usually has a “don’t care” attitude. With this type of sedation, the patient has more control than with other types of sedation. If the patient feels too sedated, they can breathe through their mouth and lighten it up right away. Conversely, if the patient is not sedated enough, we can increase the amount given. Once we remove the nitrous, you are back to normal within minutes and are able to drive home. Nitrous is also safe to use during pregnancy. The feeling while on nitrous is very much like Friday after-work happy hour.
A general anesthetic is not used in dentistry because the requirement is that an intubation tube is placed down the throat, which makes access to the teeth impossible.
