What is oral sedation?
Medications for oral sedation reduce activity in the portion of the brain that controls anxiety and fear. Your child is left feeling relaxed and calm during their dental procedure. If they fall asleep, we can easily awaken them. While your child may feel sleepy when using oral sedation, they’ll remain responsive and able to breathe on their own. Though they might not remember doing so, they’ll be able to follow our commands during the procedure.
The process for oral sedation
Your child will take their oral sedation medication about an hour before their scheduled appointment time. Teens who can drive will need someone to drive them to their appointment, as the pill may kick in before their appointment time. They'll also need someone to drive them home.
What to expect after using oral sedation
It’s normal for patients to feel sleepy after using oral sedation. Plan to have your child rest and relax for the rest of the day. Many patients who use oral sedation don’t remember the details of their dental procedures.
What are the benefits?
Oral sedation has numerous benefits for our patients:
There are no needles involved
If your child has a fear of needles, oral sedation is a terrific alternative to IV sedation. All they have to do is take a pill to feel relaxed and comfortable during their procedure.
Oral sedation is safe
The medications used for oral sedation are safe and approved by the FDA for sedation dentistry. It’s extremely unlikely that your child will experience any severe side effects.
The procedure will be faster
Since your child is comfortable and relaxed when using oral sedation, they’re better able to respond to our commands during their procedure. This cooperation helps us get the procedure completed as quickly as possible, potentially decreasing their recovery time and post-procedure discomfort.
Oral Sedation, Queens & Brooklyn, New York
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Oral sedation is a type of conscious sedation where a sedative medication is taken orally (by mouth) to help a patient relax during a dental procedure.
