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It’s a fact – some people are afraid to go to the dentist, and will do just about anything to avoid doing so. Unfortunately, toothaches, teeth cleaning, and other life events happen that make a trip to the dentist’s office inevitable. The good news is that there is a dentist in Covington, LA that knows how to make patients comfortable during their visits! Ross Quartano, D.D.S. is a Covington dentist who would like to talk to anxious patients about a type of sedation dentistry that does not include making a patient completely unconscious.

What is Oral Conscious Sedation?

There are several types of conscious sedation available to patients in Covington, LA. Oral conscious sedation means that a small dose of oral medication may be given to the patient the day before their appointment or a few hours before the appointment. These anti-anxiety medications may include Valium or similar drugs. For safety reasons, patients must have someone drive them to the dentist’s office and back home again after the visit.

By appointment time, patients will be relaxed, and they can remain anxiety free throughout their dental procedure. Using oral medication can be a low cost and effective relaxation technique that is suitable for the control of light or mild symptoms of dental anxiety. A disadvantage of this type of sedation is, because of the sedative drug’s delayed effect, it can be difficult to control the exact level of sedation needed. Patients will also need to have an injection containing local anesthetic in order to control the pain.

What Types of Medication are Available?

A variety of medications may be used for oral conscious sedation. Medications may include the following:

What are the Advantages of Oral Conscious Sedation?

There are many benefits of oral sedation. It is easy to administer – the patient only has to take pills. No needles are involved for this effective treatment. Oral sedation has an amnesic effect (it will give the patient either partial or total memory loss about the dental procedure). It is a favorite of patients – a great many patients who have used oral conscious sedation recommend it to their friends). This method of sedation also comes with a lower price tag than intravenous sedation.

What is Intravenous Conscious Sedation?

Dr. Ross Quartano may also recommend Nitrous Oxide sedation (Laughing Gas), when oral medications aren’t enough. This type of sedation administers a combination of analgesics and sedative drugs through a vein into the bloodstream of a patient. This type of sedation dentistry is more expensive and is only recommended for longer, more invasive dental treatments.

Dr. Quartano, along with the entire staff of Magnolia Dental in Covington, LA, would like to talk with anxious patients about the many benefits of using Oral Conscious Sedation.