Fear or anxiety over dental work has kept many people from having certain dental procedures done. Now, thanks to advancements in the dental industry, sedation dentistry allows patients to get the dental work that they need while being comfortably and safely sedated.

Although the patient does not feel any pain or remember anything, the patient is not entirely unconscious. The patient is simply in a state of extreme relaxation.

A patient may choose to be sedated by taking a pill an hour before the procedure. Sedation by nitrous oxide or intravenous injection is also available. Sedation dentists monitor patient vital signs throughout the procedure, thereby maintaining a safe level of sedation. The sedation can last for varying amounts of time. The patient can be given a smaller dose for procedures that last up to an hour, or a larger dose for multiple procedures that will relax the patient for up to six hours.

Sedation dentistry can be helpful in a variety of situations. For instance, sedation dentistry is commonly used with individuals who have an extreme fear or anxiety associated with dentistry procedures, perhaps originating from traumatic experiences in the past, but even patients with a bad gag reflex may choose to be sedated. Patients who have difficulty getting numb from local anesthesia, or have especially sensitive teeth can also benefit from sedation dentistry.

"Sedation dentistry is one of the greatest improvements to dental care in the past decade," says Dr. O'Neil, a sedation dentist in Florida. "I have been able to perform procedures on patients who otherwise would never have considered the work. People who are avoiding dentistry out of fear or sensitivity can achieve the smile they've always wanted with the help of sedation dentistry."