Benefits of Having IV Sedation During Dental Implant Surgery
If the thought of going to the dentist makes you feel anxious and uncomfortable, you’re far from alone. The American Dental Association estimates that 22% of Americans avoid dental visits due to fear and anxiety. We fully understand. One easy solution to eliminate dental anxiety is to be sedated for treatment. Dr. McFadden is certified to administer Conscious Sedation and has been administering it since 2004.
Dental implant placement surgery is a technique-sensitive procedure that requires a still, stable environment to deliver properly. IV sedation is a comfortable, effective, safe method of sedation that allows maximum access and control over the procedure by the surgeon. Most patients who undergo dental implant surgery have no complications whatsoever. And many even have dental implants placed without IV sedation. Although this is fine if they’re not anxious, and their blood pressure is low and vitals stable, we often recommend having IV sedation if there are multiple implants being placed, or for full mouth dental implant surgery.
SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF HAVING IV SEDATION:
ANXIETY RELIEF
Patients Are Totally Relaxed. IV sedation allows patients to be totally relaxed and asleep during the surgical procedure. It also allows the surgeon to focus completely on the surgery without the distraction of comforting a nervous patient. While you are sedated, we are able to perform the necessary work without any interruptions or distraction, making it more predictable AND safer.
ENHANCED CONTROL/SHORTER SURGERY TIME
Without the distraction of a patient’s anxiety, we can focus solely on the task at hand and get right to work. The shorter the time spent in surgery, the faster the healing and the lower the risk of complications. This allows us to finish the surgery in less time, limiting complications and improving the outcome.
IMMEDIATE EFFECTS
IV sedation takes effect very quickly, unlike other forms of sedation (such as oral sedation), which can take over an hour for you to feel calm and relaxed. Sedation administered intravenously reaches your brain immediately, so there’s no lag time between it being administered and you feeling relaxed and stress-free.
IT IS HIGHLY CUSTOMIZABLE/MORE ACCURATE THAN ORAL SEDATION
With oral sedation, (unless you’ve had it a few times already) you don’t really know the full effects it’ll have on you until a little while after you take it. And then-sometimes that’s too much, and you can barely walk! Or sometimes it’s not enough, and you may still feel somewhat anxious, and have to take another pill and wait for it to take effect before we can begin. Everyone is different, and unless you’ve done this a few times, we can’t predictably gauge just HOW QUICKLY it’ll take effect or HOW LONG it’ll last. And for longer procedures, it sometimes wears off before you want it to.
IV sedation, on the other hand, is controllable because it is easily customized to your individual needs. Since it is administered intravenously, we have full control over the precise amount of sedation you receive, and the frequency of the drugs administered, so you’ll be comfortable throughout the entire procedure. Not too much and not too little!
FASTER RECOVERY
Once we stop administering the sedation, the effects of it will begin to wear off. You’ll still need someone to drive you home after your procedure, as you most likely will still experience some lingering drowsiness for a little while as the sedation leaves your bloodstream. But you’ll recover and return to a normal state faster than if you took anti-anxiety medication.
REDUCTION IN GAG REFLEX
Because patients are totally relaxed under sedation, the gag reflex is inhibited, making the patient more comfortable, time spent in surgery smoother, safer and more controlled.
COMMON QUESTIONS:
What Type Of Sedation Do We Use?
Conscious IV Sedation – Also known as “Twilight or Conscious Sedation”, will put you in a safe, relaxed, and comfortable state throughout your surgery. It is the most effective means of reducing awareness and anxiety for dental procedures.
What Is The Difference Between Conscious Sedation and General Anesthesia?
Conscious sedation is defined as “a drug-induced depression of consciousness during which patients respond purposefully to verbal commands and are able to maintain a patent airway.” (In other words, they can breathe on their own)
General anesthesia involves “drug-induced loss of consciousness during which patients are not arousable, even by painful stimulation. The ability to independently maintain ventilatory function is often impaired. Patients often require assistance in maintaining a patent airway, such as mechanical ventilation” (A breathing tube is used and the patient’s airway may be taken over and monitored by respiratory support).
Which Is Safer?
Conscious Sedation is safer. The adverse effects that are sometimes associated with general anesthesia are avoided with conscious sedation. Moreover, patients maintain their natural physiological reflexes and are capable of breathing on their own.
Cardiovascular function is usually unaffected throughout the various stages of conscious sedation. In contrast, it is usually impaired with general anesthesia, and careful monitoring is mandatory. In both cases, patients are required to fast several hours prior to their operation.
What Will It Feel Like?
Intravenous sedation has a very calming effect. You are more or less asleep, but semi-conscious. In other words, conscious enough to respond when needed. For instance, if we need to ask you to open wider or cooperate in some other way, you can wake up just barely, momentarily, and cooperate, then go right back to sleep like nothing is happening. This helps us work more efficiently and effectively during the procedure.
Will I Feel Any Pain During The Procedure?
No. Once you’re asleep, we will administer the local anesthetic to get your mouth numb. So, you won’t even be awake for the shots.
Are There Any Side Effects?
There aren’t any major side effects of dental sedation other than possibly being groggy for a few hours after the fact.
Will I Remember The Procedure?
Patients typically remember little to nothing of their procedure.
