Conscious Sedation
Conscious sedation has been used to assist anxious patients recieve necessary dentistry for decades. It has evolved into an extremely safe procedure allowing nervous patients to have routine and more advanced dental procedures carried out without the necessity to attend a General or Dental hospital for general anaesthetic.
At Quirke Dental Surgeons, we are pleased to be able to offer two different types of conscious sedation procedure to our patients.
Inhalation Sedation
Inhalation sedation involves the patient breathing a mixture of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and oxygen through a special mask which fits over the nose and allows us to achieve to achieve mild sedation. This procedure is particularly suitable for children and for adults who do not require a lot of dental treatment. The gas mixture is delivered through a special regulating machine which allows the mixture to be carefully adjusted until the patient feels relaxed and comfortable. The patient is fully recovered 15-20 minutes following cessation of sedation.
Intravenous Sedation
Intravenous sedation involves the delivery of the sedation agent, Midazolam, directly into the patient’s bloodstream. This can be carefully regulated in order to produce a profound state of relaxation. In most cases, amnaesia is also produced. This makes this form of sedation suitable for more extensive or difficult dental procedures or for patients who are extremely anxious about dental treatment. Full recovery from this form of sedation can take several hours and the patient will need to be accompanied by a responsible minder following treatment. Patients are fully monitored during treatment and recovery, and will only be discharged once a good recovery is made.
Assessment
We will only carry out sedation procedures once a complete assessment for suitability has been carried out. Some patients are not suitable for this form of procedure.
