How should I prepare for sedation dentistry?

if you have dentist-induced anxiety and need info about how to prepare for sedation dentistry, please watch this video and then call us for a consultation.

If you’ve done the exam and we’ve decided that sedation dentistry is a good option for you, on the day of the appointment, you want to make sure you come in with comfortable clothing. If you are getting oral sedation, you do need a ride to the clinic and back home because you can’t drive afterward. You will be sedated with nitrous gas, and you are not able to drive yourself there and back. You need someone there to pick you up and be responsible for you once you go.

If you decide to do sedation dentistry, if it’s an oral sedation procedure, you want to come in on an empty stomach. That means no eating for about six to eight hours before the appointment. You can have a small amount of water or juice three to four hours beforehand but nothing after that. With the nitrous gas, in order to prepare for sedation dentistry, we recommend you come in on an empty stomach for about 3 hours before the procedure.

During the procedure with the nitrous gas, you sit down, we take your vitals, and then there’s a nasal cannula that goes over your nose. You breathe in some oxygen to start with, and then we slowly start adding on the gas and you start to slowly feel it over time. We’ll check in with you the whole time, making sure you’re comfortable and making sure you’re at a good level. Your vitals will be monitored, and once the appointment is finished, we can give you some more oxygen and wait until all your baseline levels are adequate before we dismiss you.

With the oral sedation, we want to dismiss you with a responsible adult as you are technically impaired for that day.

If you are interested in learning more about how to prepare for sedation dentistry or want to see if it is right for you, call us at (403) 265-5888 to request a sedation dentistry consultation at Inglewood Family Dental!