Sedation

For most surgical and some root planning procedures patients opt for oral sedation. Generally, a small dose of Triazolam (Halcion) is taken at home one hour prior to the scheduled treatment visit. When the patient arrives, if they are still anxious then there is adequate time built into our procedures for them to take more after being evaluated by Dr. Du. The advantages to oral sedation during procedures are that the procedure seems to go very fast for most patients and their anxiety is eliminated. Also because your jaw muscles are relaxed you can tolerate long appointments without your jaw joint cramping. The disadvantages are that you must have someone drive you here and back home because of the sedation and you will probably take a nap after leaving the office. If you do not like Triazolam, Nitrous Oxide (laughing gas) is available. However, it is generally used only during the injection and the time you are getting numb because the nosepiece can make access to your mouth difficult during treatment. In any case the area being treated will also be numbed using local anesthesia. Topical gel will be applied to the area to numb the injection site.