The sedative is given through a small plastic tube (a ‘cannula’) put into a vein on the back of your hand or inside your elbow. The insertion of the cannula is very quick and simple. The sedative is given in small amounts over a period of time until you are sufficiently sedated for the procedure to begin.

You will be monitored from the start of the procedure by our nurses who have specific and recognised training in the care of patients receiving treatment under sedation. Medical monitoring equipment is used to record your pulse, blood pressure, blood oxygen levels throughout your treatment as well as during the recovery period.

A local anesthetic is still needed to numb the area of surgery, and is given slowly and carefully before your procedure begins. After your treatment, a recovery period is necessary during which the immediate effects of the sedation start to wear off.

Your monitoring will be continued during this time. All relevant postoperative instructions (including any prescribed medicines) will be discussed with you and your escort. When we are satisfied that you have recovered enough, you will be discharged home in your escort’s care.

The length of dental sedation depends on the treatment you need; we aim to keep the sedation at a satisfactory level for the duration of your procedure, and you will only be discharged home when you have recovered enough from the sedation. The effects of the sedative will be present for the next 24 hours, so it is essential that you follow our postoperative instructions.

The administration of any drug carries some risk: the risks associated with intravenous sedation as described are very small and can be further minimized by following our pre- and postoperative instructions. A very small number of patients are not suitable for treatment under intravenous sedation for medical reasons. Please discuss any concerns you have by contacting Skene Street Dental practice.

Intravenous sedation is a form of ‘conscious sedation’ as, unlike general anesthesia, the aim is not to bring about a complete loss of consciousness (including loss of protective reflexes). General anesthesia can now only be administered in a hospital setting; intravenous sedation is an inherently more pleasant way of having potentially stressful dental treatment carried out. It is especially effective if you are apprehensive as the sedative’s action actually removes anxiety and so makes dental treatment much more comfortable.

During sedation you remain conscious during conscious IV sedation. You will also be able to understand and respond to requests from your dentist.
However you might have little or no recollection about the procedure for two reasons:
1. IV sedation induces a state of deep relaxation and a feeling of not being bothered by what’s going on.
2. the drugs used for IV sedation produce either partial or full memory loss (amnesia) for the period of time when the drug first kicks in until it wears off. The effect of this is that time seems go by quickly and you have very little recollection of what has just occurred. A lot of patients remember none of the proceedings which suggests that during the procedure there was a period of sleeping.

“Intravenous” means that the drug is put into a vein. An ultra thin needle is put into a vein near to the surface of the skin either in the arm or the back of your hand. The anti-anxiety drug used is Midazolam, chosen because it is a short acting benzodiazepine.
Throughout the procedure , your pulse and oxygen levels are measured using a “pulse oximeter”. This gadget clips onto a finger and measures pulse and oxygen saturation. It gives an audible early warning sign if you’re getting too low on oxygen, although if your dentist and the nurses are paying attention they should see it way before the machine does. Blood pressure before and after the procedure should be checked with a blood pressure measuring machine.

IV sedation is extremely safe when carried out under the supervision of a specially-trained dentist. Purely statistically speaking, it’s even safer than local anaesthetic on its own!

The drugs which are usually used for IV sedation are not painkillers, but anti-anxiety drugs. While they relax you and make you forget what happens, you will still need to be numbed.
If you have a fear of injections, you will not be numbed until the IV sedation has fully kicked in. If you have a phobia of needles, you will very probably be relaxed enough not to care by this stage. Your dentist will then wait until the local anaesthetic has taken effect (i.e. until you’re numb) before starting on any procedure.