Sedation Dentistry in Calgary

The most common type of dental sedation we practice relies on oral sedation instead of intravenous drugs. About an hour before your dental sedation, Dr. Silver will give you a mild sedative. Once the medication kicks in, you will be sedated enough to feel completely relaxed, but you’ll remain conscious and comfortable enough to still answer questions asked by the dentist during your procedure. Rest assured that we will not start any treatment until you are feeling relaxed.

Sedation can be used for any dental procedure. We don’t want fear to be an obstacle to receiving the care you want or need. We have patients who receive sedation for routine dental cleanings all the way to more complex procedures such as veneers and implants.

Sedation dentistry uses different types of medication, depending on the type of sedative approach being used. For instance, inhalation sedation with laughing gas uses a mixture of pure oxygen and nitrous gas. As you inhale them together, the mild analgesic helps you feel relaxed within a few minutes. For oral sedation, a prescription sedative is taken by mouth (usually in a pill form, but sometimes a liquid) about an hour before your treatment is scheduled to start. This type of sedative medication does take a few hours to totally wear off, so you’ll need to have someone drive you home after a procedure.

It’s important to remember to let all dentists know if you have any food or drug allergies (including eggs). You’ll also need to provide a list of any prescription or over-the-counter medication that you’re taking so that they can be sure nothing interacts with the sedative they plan to use. Since there are multiple sedation options available, be sure to ask your dentist which one you’ll be using and why.

Dental sedation costs can range from a one-time affordable fee that’s added on to your routine visit, to a more complex process that involves additional charges related to the sedation process used.

If the sedation is covered by your dental insurance, you may not have to pay anything out of pocket. Usually, a portion is included in your benefits and we can estimate the total costs involved at the time of your exam. At that point, we’ll provide you with a detailed treatment plan that lists out itemized fees related to each planned procedure, including sedation costs.

What a lot of people don’t realize is that getting sedation can help them save money in the long run, because they’re no longer putting off the treatment that they need. Feeling comfortable enough to go ahead and catch up on the care their teeth require will keep treatment expenses to a minimum, compared to problems compounding and becoming more expensive to treat down the road. When you think of it that way, it’s like the sedation helps pay for itself!

Absolutely! Dental sedation makes it easier for people to sit through longer procedures, overcome dental anxiety and phobia, or book multiple treatments in a single appointment.

Depending on the type of sedation being used, you can also ask for a sedative to be added to your appointment at the last minute. Laughing gas is quickly reversible and safe enough to use on all ages, so it’s a common add-on for routine dental appointments. Nitrous oxide sedation only takes a few minutes to start working, so you can even ask for it at the last minute if you feel like you would benefit from it.

However, deeper sedation (such as those using oral sedatives) needs to be planned in advance. If you want to make sure that you’re as comfortable as possible, or have a heightened fear of the dentist, then oral sedation is likely the best choice. Be sure to let us know that you’re considering sedation during your exam so that we can determine if it’s appropriate for your medical needs.

For routine fillings, you usually won’t need anything more than a bit of local anesthetic (numbing medication) to numb the tooth that has a cavity. But for those of us who get nervous about injections or trips to the dentist in general, sedation can help to take the edge off. That being said, you likely won’t need something that’s so strong that it “puts you to sleep.” The best option for a cavity will probably be nitrous oxide sedation (laughing gas).

On the other hand, people with aggressive tooth decay, individuals who have severe anxiety, or for people with special needs, it might not be possible to sit through a routine filling appointment and still be aware of everything going on around you. If that’s the situation, we can discuss a deeper level of sedation on a case-by-case basis. Ultimately, we need to help you feel comfortable and relaxed enough to get medically necessary dental care.

For the most part, general anesthesia (what most people are referring to when they ask to be put to sleep) is reserved for more complex oral surgeries.

Most oral surgeries like wisdom tooth extractions call for general anesthesia or IV sedation. When that’s the case, the medication is delivered via a small intravenous line directly into your bloodstream. This delivery method helps the anesthesia start working very quickly and can be turned off as soon as the surgery is over. Plus, it’s predictable and can be safely monitored by a licensed anesthesia provider (which can be a dentist or nurse anesthetist.)

Unless you need a surgical procedure like wisdom tooth extractions, sinus lifts, or multiple dental implants installed in one day, you likely won’t need anesthesia for your procedure. A milder sedative can offer a comfortable experience without the complexity of IV medication.

If you do suspect that you’ll need general anesthesia, we’ll want to select an appropriate medication based on your unique health circumstances. Be sure to let us know if you’ve undergone any recent surgeries, hospitalizations, what drug allergies you have (if any), and what other medications you’re currently taking (even if they’re over the counter.)

Any time that our dentist recommends a specific type of treatment, we’ll draft a care plan that outlines the fees involved and how your dental insurance is estimated to cover them. When it comes to sedation or IV anesthesia/sedation, it’s no different. Sometimes, we can even check to see if the service is included as part of your traditional medical benefits, depending on the need for the sedation.

When you make an appointment, be sure to bring a copy of all insurance cards with you. That way our treatment coordinators can contact your carrier to determine a detailed breakdown of the benefits that your plan includes. Once we contact them, we’ll have the numbers to “crunch” when it comes to figuring out what’s covered.

For dental procedures that are medically necessary and require sedation or anesthesia, it may be possible to get your dental insurance carrier to cover all or some of the expenses. Examples might include oral surgery, wisdom tooth extraction, or when special needs prevent the individual from sitting through a regular appointment.

Sedation dentists might use medications such as Valium (Diazepam), Halcion (Triazolam), Sonata (Zaleplon), or Ativan (Lorazepam) just to name a few. Each offers different benefits depending on the patient’s medical history, age, and the level of sedation that’s needed.

Before selecting the type of sedation medication to use, our local sedation dentist will need to review your past sedation experiences, discuss things like drug allergies, and know about any other medications or supplements that you’re currently taking.

If you have specific medical needs, or a complex health history, we can also discuss the sedation process with your primary care physician ahead of time to confirm the appropriate care plan.