What Type of Education Does a Sedation Dentist Need to Follow?
- By Mary Marks
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- 30 Aug, 2022
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Dental anxiety is quite common in children and adults alike, causing frightening feelings that make people avoid going to the dentist. The good news is that struggling with dental anxiety may not be an issue anymore, due to the dental sedation technique that a Colorado sedation dentist uses nowadays.
Sedation is not the same as anesthesia, but it can go hand in hand with it for the benefit of the patient. Sedation alone does not eliminate pain (that`s the role of the anesthesia!), but relaxes the patient and provides mental comfort during dental interventions.
Who administers the sedative substances?
There are several types of sedation, from mild to deep. Dentists are allowed to administer mild sedation, consisting of the inhalation of a gas (a combination of nitrous oxide and oxygen), because the patient remains fully conscious and cooperative. They are trained in the use of this sedation technique during their general dentistry training.
However, a dentist needs additional training and licensing, according to their state`s law, for providing other forms of dental sedation that decrease the patient`s level of consciousness and require a closer monitoring. Additionally, their office must have emergency supplies and special equipment ready for unexpected situations.
When it comes to administering deep sedation, dentists collaborate with anesthesiologists, who deal with keeping the patient asleep and monitoring it, while they perform the dental interventions.
Although oral sedation dentistry Highlands Ranch is one of the optionsavailable for managing anxiety and discomfort during oral surgery, you certainly do not need to use it all the time. As a matter of fact, the exact type of sedation or anesthesia that you receive during oral procedures may depend on various factors, such as the complexity of the procedure, your medical problems, as well as your doctor’s preferences.
There can be several different levels of sedation that can be used in oral surgery. Local anesthesia is one of them. This involves injecting anesthetic medication into the specific area where the surgery will take place. It numbs the area and is often used for less invasive procedures.
Oral sedation involves taking medication in the form of a pill to induce a state of relaxation and drowsiness. The patient is still conscious, but he/she may not be fully aware of the procedure. At any rate, sedation helps him/her get rid of anxiety.
In the case of intravenous sedation, medication is administered through a vein, which induces a deeper state of sedation than oral sedation. Patients may still be conscious, but they are less aware of their surroundings and may not remember the procedure.
