What is Conscious Sedation?

Many dentists practice conscious sedation to help ease their patients into dental procedures.  But what exactly is conscious sedation and how does it work?  Typically with conscious sedation, an individual can respond to verbal instructions, but they barely feel any pain, sometimes no pain at all.  The patient is in an altered state of consciousness and it’s mainly used for medical procedures where it’s necessary to be aware or for minor procedures where general anesthesia isn’t necessary.  It’s also used for uncooperative children to help calm them down in order to complete necessary medical procedures.

This type of sedation is very common for dental procedures but it’s also used for biopsies, and minor medical operations.  Patients will be closely reviewed before sedation medication is administered and each Miami sedation dentist goes over all of the risks, alternatives and advantages in detail.  The patient is monitored during the entire procedure by watching the heart rate, breathing, and sometimes the dissolved oxygen levels in the bloodstream.  Adverse reactions are generally caught early and staff is well-trained to deal with emergencies.

After the patient’s procedure is complete they are further monitored for a period of time while the medication wears off.  They are instructed not to drive, make important decisions, or engage is activities that require fine motor skills.  There are sometimes side effects from using the medication associated with sedation dentistry, but they are generally mild and are worth the benefits of having a relaxing experience overall.