What Does It Feel Like to Be Under Sedation?
By John Mecca | Published on March 3, 2011 | 0 Comments
The term sedation means many different things to different people. Although some people think that being under sedation means being completely asleep and unaware of one’s surroundings, Dr. John D. Mecca, D.D.S. PC says that is far from the case when it comes to the type of oral sedation most commonly used in the field of general and cosmetic dentistry.
As a family dentist in Utica, New York, Dr. Mecca says that being able to offer sedation dentistry options to his patients is very important. Dental anxieties and phobias are a very real, serious problem for a lot of people, and without sedation dentistry, many people would not be able to go to the dentist at all.
According to Dr. Mecca, dentists who offer oral sedation are able to give their patients certain pills that will make the process of having dental work done much more enjoyable. Patients who are under oral sedation are not asleep entirely, but they are not awake entirely, either. Rather, Dr. Mecca says, they are in a limbo state, so to speak.
From the patient’s point of view, the benefits of sedation dentistry are clear. While patients are in this limbo state, they are completely relaxed and calm. Dr. Mecca says that patients can respond to basic questions while under oral sedation, but they have no recollection of anything that happened after the fact. This is what is known in dental communities as an altered perception.
From the point of view of a family dentist in Utica, sedation dentistry offers slightly different benefits. Dr. Mecca says that it is much easier to work on a patient who is calm and relaxed, allowing for better outcomes in many cases. And unlike other forms of anesthesia and sedation that put patients all the way to sleep, patients who are under oral sedation are completely awake. This makes it possible for Dr. Mecca to ask questions during procedures in many cases, and also makes the sedation itself safer.
Although it can be difficult to describe exactly what it feels like to be under oral sedation, Dr. Mecca says the best way he has heard it explained is that a person who is sedated in this way knows he is being worked on by a dentist, but he just doesn’t care. Anxieties and fears are completely gone when a person is under oral sedation.
Sedation dentistry can be used for pretty much any dental-related procedures these days. At his office in Utica, Dr. Mecca is a family dentist who offers oral sedation to patients who feel anxious about normal cleanings, fillings, crowns, root canals, and more. He says that any procedure that a dentist performs can be done while a patient is under oral sedation. When it comes to sedation dentistry, dentists are only limited by the amount of sedation they can safely give patients and the amount of work that needs to be done.
Anxiety and fear are no longer valid reasons for avoiding the dentist’s office. Thanks to the popularity of oral sedation techniques, people with dental phobias no longer have a reason for not getting semi-annual checkups and exams.
*Disclaimer: The information on this website is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.