Dr Jonathan Josephs:
Implants, and tooth extractions are routinely done without sedation. If you insist that you would like to be sedated for implant placement, many oral surgery offices provide that service. General anesthesia however, which is a much deeper level of sedation, exposes patients to risks that might not be necessary for routine dental procedures.
If dental anxiety is the reason that you want to be put to sleep before dental treatment, the first and least risky option to try is oral sedation. Your dentist will prescribe one or two pills of a benzodiazepine that you will take an hour before your dental appointment. (Halcion, Valium, Ativan,). You must have someone drive you to and from the appointment. Most patients that I give a sedative pill to end up sleeping through their procedure.
Some offices still offer Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) since it reduces anxiety in many patients, but I do not offer this in my office for several reasons. Firstly, the tubes that deliver this gas get in the way of the dentist and also make the patient feel claustrophobic. Secondly, laughing gas causes reduced fertility; uncaptured gas that leaks into the dental office puts the dentist, and assistant at risk. Lastly, laughing gas does not always reduce anxiety in patients, and sometimes I have seen patients actually become more anxious under laughing gas. Oral sedation with a pill is a more predictable method for reducing dental anxiety.
Dr. Mitch Josephs
I was waiting for my son to write: “laughing gas; needed for anytime my dad tries to be funny.”
I agree with all of the above, and add being asleep prevents the patient form holding their head still and responding to important commands such as: “turn, close, open, tap your teeth together, lift your chin up etc. resulting in a better treatment outcome.”