Is IV Sedation Safe?

Imagine having dental treatment done in a state of deep relaxation and calmness, with little awareness of what is happening around you and little memory of what occurred once it’s over. For people who choose IV sedation, this dream is a reality.

Whether you’re familiar with IV sedation in dentistry or not, you likely have some questions—the No. 1 being, Is it safe?

The American Dental Association outlines specific guidelines that dentists and staff must follow to administer IV sedation safely during dental treatments. Dentists and staff must also comply with state laws. In addition to special training and guidelines, your dentist will make sure IV sedation is a safe choice for you before use in a dental treatment.

IV Sedation Explained

IV sedation is a type of conscious sedation. IV conscious sedation means you can respond to people around you. Still, you have little awareness of what is happening and feel less anxious and more relaxed. Some people call it a state of being semi-conscious. It is sometimes called twilight sedation.

Specially trained staff administer IV sedation and monitor you throughout your treatment. The medication that causes the sedation is delivered to your body via an intravenous tube connected to a needle that is gently inserted into a vein in your hand or arm. It begins to wear off quickly once your dental treatment has ended.

Benefits

IV sedation is great for people who experience dental anxiety. It works quickly, allowing you to feel calm faster and spend less time in the dentist’s chair. IV sedation also affects your memory. After your treatment, everything that happened will feel a little fuzzy, a benefit many people enjoy.

Additional IV sedation benefits include:

  • It helps people who have a strong gag reflex.
  • It helps people who have developed decreased sensitivity to local anesthesia.
  • It makes long treatments feel faster.
  • It softens the sound of equipment used to clean teeth.
  • It stops a cycle of delayed care and treatment.

Risks

If you’ve never had IV sedation, it’s not possible to know exactly how you will react to it. In rare cases people experience allergic reactions. However, your dentist will have special medication if this occurs.

Many IV sedation risks, if experienced, are short-lived. These include:

  • A feeling of drowsiness that’s hard to shake
  • Bruising around the needle insertion site
  • Dry mouth
  • Headache
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting

What about Oversedation? 

Oversedation, which is rare, occurs when you are given too much IV sedation. If this happens, your blood pressure can drop and your breathing rate can slow down too much. But this is, in part, why staff closely monitor you.

Staff can quickly and easily adjust the amount of medicine you are receiving throughout your treatment, which makes oversedation rare. Also, if oversedation occurs, staff can quickly give you a different medicine to reverse the effects.

Is IV Sedation Right for You?

Your dentist will ensure you are an ideal candidate before your dental treatment appointment. If you are interested in IV sedation, you will first have a consultation. During that appointment, your dentist will ask you for:

  • List of any medications you are taking
  • Current medical conditions
  • Detailed personal medical history
  • Detailed family medical history
  • Past medical conditions

 

Don’t Let Dental Anxiety Delay Treatment

At First Impressions Dentistry, our staff is specially trained to provide nitrous oxide sedation, oral conscious sedation, and IV sedation. If you’re delaying treatment for fear of what the experience will be like, contact us today and find out if sedation is right for you.

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