Dental patients of any age can frequently feel nervous about upcoming dental procedures. If you feel anxiety or stress related to your dental care, you should let your dentist know. They can consult with you to find ways to alleviate your dental fear, including with medication through sedation dentistry.
Sedation will induce a calm sensation so that you can feel at ease during your dental work. Though you can enhance your experience at your dentist’s office this way, many people may worry about the lasting effects of this treatment.
Dental sedation is safe for patients of all ages, and your dentist has extensive training to administer the treatment safely. But you can feel more comfortable about this dental solution when you know more about it. Read on to learn details about sedation dentistry benefits, especially relating to the longevity of its effects.
What Does Dental Sedation Feel Like?
Dental sedation and its effects can vary depending on the type of medicine you choose to pursue. Your dentist can provide you with two sedation options, and you can choose according to your preferences and comfort levels.
Nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, involves wearing a mask over the nose that delivers sedation medicine that you can breathe. The calm, euphoric sensation will begin almost immediately. And while you feel at ease, your consciousness and awareness will remain unaffected.
Oral sedation entails taking a prescribed tablet about an hour before your dentist appointment. Then when you reach your dentist’s office, the sedation will kick in so that you feel relaxed enough that many people fall asleep during their dental work. The medicine can impact your awareness to make you feel groggy or disoriented.
Both of these options help patients combat dental fear. And these treatments can prevent gagging during your appointment as well as help young patients who tend to fidget or squirm to stay still in the dentist’s chair. As a result, patients of all ages can have an enhanced experience during their appointment.
How Long Until Dental Sedation Effects Fade?
The duration of dental sedation will also rely on the type of medicine you choose with your dentist. For instance, when you stop breathing the laughing gas, the sedation’s effects will fade very quickly. You can drive and continue your usual activities without disruption.
However, with oral sedation, a dentist will not have control over the medicine administration. The sedation will need to wear off on its own which can take several hours. You can anticipate some downtime of feeling groggy after you leave the dentist’s office.
Since you will feel some disorientation, you will need to arrange a ride home from the dentist’s office after oral sedation. Make sure you plan your day with this recovery period in mind.
Consult with your dentist to learn more details about how sedation will impact your awareness. Give your dentist in Laurel, MD a call at 301.490.7007.