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o Have someone drive you to the dentist?™s office, and home again afterwards, because this medication will last for about 6 hours. By the time you arrive, you?™ll be feeling drowsy and quite free of anxiety. The dentist will use a local anesthetic to eliminate pain.
· Inhalation ??a mask is placed over your face while the dentist works, and you breathe in the gas, usually nitrous oxide (laughing gas), which relaxes you. A local anesthetic is also used.
· Intravenously ??this is done after you arrive at the dentist?™s office. It?™s less frequently done, but is completely safe and in fact the drug is more effective when given this way, as opposed to orally
· With this option, you?™ll also be monitored for blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing. This keeps you safe. A local anesthetic will be used to block pain.
· Intra-muscular ??the medication is injected into muscle of the upper arm or thigh. This is less commonly used for adults, but is frequent in pediatric dentistry. Again, a local anesthetic is also used.
o You?™ll feel drowsy and calm.
Whichever way the sedating medication is administered, the dentist?™s chair will feel comfortable and you?™ll feel calm and safe in the reclining position. You?™ll be so relaxed that your cosmetic dentist can perform several dental procedures in one visit, thus reducing the number of visits required to complete all the work.
Sleep Dentistry
This is a term for dentistry done while you?™re under general anesthesia. It?™s not often done, as the sedation options take care of most people?™s anxiety. When it?™s done, a trained and certified professional will monitor you while the dentist works on your teeth. To do this type of dentistry, the dentist must have completed at least 2 years of specialized training and be certified by a dental board
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