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Patient comfort is one of our highest priorities. We know that (shockingly) there are other places you would rather be than at the dental office. For that reason we offer three levels of sedation:
- Nitrous Oxide: Nitrous oxide, also called "laughing gas" or "happy gas" is a mild level of sedation. It makes the patient feel like they are floating and tingly. This is completely reversible, and once the gas is turned off, the nitrous will be cleared out of your system within 90 seconds. You are safe to drive home after using nitrous oxide. We have nitrous oxide in every operatory, and there is no charge for patients who want it.
- Halcion: Halcion (generic name: Triazolam) is an oral sedative which provides moderate-deep sedation. The patient will be very calm, and very relaxed. Many times patients sleep through their entire appointments. What is nice about Halcion is that it has a 4-hour half-life, meaning half of it is flushed out of your system within 4 hours. The other nice feature is that it has an amnesic effect, so the patient won't remember anything at the post-op appointment. If you take Halcion you need to have someone drive you, and you need to consent to treatment ahead of time because you are not of a legal state of mind to consent to treatment.
- IV Sedation: I.V. Sedation provides deep sedation for patients. This is generally reserved for extremely anxious patients. Because we do not want to divide our attention between the sedation and the surgery we are pleased to provide a nurse anesthetist to provide constant supervision of your sedation. With I.V. sedation the patient will not remember any part of the surgery and will sleep through the entire procedure. Patient's should not drive after I.V. sedation.
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