Alabama Dental Sedation

Benefits of Office-based Sedation

• Patients enjoy the comfort and familiarity of going to a place they know and being treated by staff they are comfortable with.
• Treatment is generally available significantly faster than the hospital; we can often book you in office within 4-6 weeks instead of months.
• There are no cumbersome parking fees.
• No guessing at what the costs will be.
• Direct doctor communication and support at every step.

What We Can Do

Let’s face it, dentistry can be scary. Our goal is to provide our patients and their families the top-quality, personal touch missing in many medical environments. We are able to provide hospital-quality general anesthesia services at an affordable price, often much more quickly than is available at the hospital.

• Pediatric Patients
• Dental Phobic Patients
• Prior Failed Nitrous or Local Anesthesia
• Sensitive Gag Reflex or Low Pain Threshold

What is sedation, and why do I need it?

Anesthesia is medicine given so that a patient can undergo a medical or dental procedure without having any awareness or pain throughout. It can be given through an IV or breathed in through a patient’s nose and mouth.

Is sedation safe for my child?

All patients treated in the office setting are treated based on current American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) and American Society of Dental Anesthesiology (ASDA) guidelines and recommendations as well as state or local regulations. While we can never guarantee 100% that something unexpected may not occur, we are trained and equipped to handle a significant number of possible anesthesia emergencies. The most common risks for anesthesia on healthy patients are mild. They typically include things like post-operative pain, bruising, or nausea. More rare complications are things like unexpected drug reactions/interactions, injury to tissues, or headaches.

Before Sedation

You and your child will speak to a nurse or doctor and will answer questions about any medical problems or procedures that your child has had, any family problems with anesthesia, any medicines your child is taking, and be given instructions on when to stop eating and drinking the night before their procedure.

During Sedation

Before administering the medicine, monitors to watch your child’s blood pressure, heart, and oxygen level throughout will be applied, and they are monitored as they are going to sleep, throughout the procedure and as they wake up. We place a mask that they breathe from which will deliver oxygen and the anesthesia gas which will have them drift off to sleep. Once asleep, we start an IV to deliver other medications to keep your child comfortable throughout the procedure. We also place a breathing tube in the throat while asleep to breathe for your child while asleep. While asleep, medicine to treat pain and prevent nausea are given so that your child will be comfortable when they wake up.

After Sedation

Kids who have general anesthesia go to the PACU (post-anesthesia care unit) after their procedure. In the PACU, doctors and nurses watch kids very closely as they wake up. Parents usually can join their child in the PACU. Expect your child to be sleepy for an hour or so. Some kids feel sick to their stomach, irritable, or confused when waking up. They may have a dry throat from the breathing tube.