Everything You Need To Know About Conscious Sedation

Even though dental clinics throughout the country have come a long way in making people feel at ease and comfortable when visiting, many people still get that anxious, nervous feeling before treatment. More often than not, anxiety has a detrimental effect on both the patient and a Basildon dentist treating them. There’s a good chance that the patient won’t relax and this means that if the dentist has to carry out precision work, then it isn’t made easy. So what’s the solution? The answer is conscious sedation.

Conscious sedation is a cross between a general and a local anaesthetic and puts the patient in a completely relaxed state. Patients under conscious sedation won’t feel any pain, yet as the name suggests, they’re conscious enough that they can fully respond to the needs of the dentist. Whether this is for simple cosmetic treatments, or more complex cases such as dental implants, Basildon clinics among others are using this form of sedation to help anxiety in patients.

How is it delivered?

Conscious sedation is delivered in two ways. Firstly intravenously, using a controlled injection or for those who have a phobia of needles then via inhalation. This is where a small mask is placed directly over the nose and mouth allowing a patient to breath in a harmless mix of oxygen and nitrous oxide. The results are a deep sensation of relaxation and peace and some even say that they felt a complete sense of carefree abandon.

What are the advantages?

Aside from the fact that it promotes patient consciousness, unlike general anaesthetics which you might be familiar with under the NHS, dentists in Basildon who are using the technique say that you won’t feel queasy afterwards. What’s more, recovery is very quick. On most occasions people are back to normal in around 30 minutes and some less than this.

So when is it best used?

Conscious sedation can be used on any treatment from check-ups, through to cosmetic dentistry. Basildon dental clinic for example, ask all patients to advise them if they feel at all anxious or nervous before treatment.

If this is the case then the team will do all they can to make the patient feel both comfortable and relaxed. In some cases this might be using conscious sedation techniques and in others it might simply entail speaking to the patient and telling them exactly what’s going on.