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There are many reasons 50% of the
population put dental care at the bottom of the healthcare list.
Some people are downright fearful while others have suffered bad
experiences in the past including difficulty getting numb or a bad gag
reflex. Some need extensive care and simply can't find enough hours
in the day.
It's time to rest easy. Sedation Dentistry is here! After an initial visit with us where all your questions and concerns will be answered, we'll schedule your sedation appointment(s). You'll find your treatment is performed more comfortably than you might ever have thought possible. You'll be drowsy, and unaware of the time passing by. Our specially trained team will monitor you continually throughout the appointment. The big plus? We can accomplish extensive amounts of dentistry at one time, and you'll have little or no memory of the experience. For anxious patients, this treatment is a miracle. Your dental health is important and need not be neglected because you are nervous. Sedation Dentistry is as simple as taking a pill for many patients. Wake up to new, beautiful smile! Please call today if you have questions or are ready to begin. |
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Definitions: |
| Oral Sedation
Sedation administered by pill. This is the lightest but most cost
effective level of sedation.
IV Sedation Sedation administered by intravenous medication. This is the highest level of sedation we can provide in office. It offers the most comfort and most reliable and controllable level of conscious sedation. General Anesthesia This is the deepest level of anesthesia possible. General anesthesia is provided by the Medical Anesthesiologist in an outpatient surgery center. General Anesthesia is the anesthesia that you have when you go to the "operating room". General anesthesia, though more expensive than IV or oral sedation, allows a maximum amount of dental treatment to be accomplished in a single visit. For some patients who might need multiple IV sedation appointments----General Anesthesia might actually be more cost effective when factoring in both the cost of multiple sedations and missed time at work. |
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Sedation Terms and Florida Law: |
| Sleep Dentistry
is a new term that has surfaced, usually advertised or promoted by "Sleep
Dentist" websites or Dental Practices, implying that with the administration
of a pill a patient will sleep through dental treatment. Many patients
are confused about the term "sleep dentistry." You first need to understand some basic sedation terms and definitions, and rule changes regulating advertising that have been proposed by the Florida State Board of Dentistry will also be noted. Conscious Sedation: "a depressed level of consciousness accompanied by partial loss of protective reflexes, including either or both the inability to continually maintain an airway independently or to respond appropriately to physical stimulation or verbal command." Deep Sedation: "a depressed level of consciousness accompanied by partial loss of protective reflexes, including either or both the inability to continually maintain an airway independently or to respond appropriately to physical stimulation or verbal command." General Anesthesia: "a controlled state of unconsciousness... accompanied by a partial or complete loss of protective reflexes, including the partial of complete inability to independently maintain an airway and respond purposefully to physical stimulation or verbal command." "Additionally, the ADA says: patients whose only response is reflex withdrawal from painful stimuli would not be considered to be in a state of conscious sedation" (quoted from Florida Dental Society of Anesthesiology Newsletter, Spring, 2002. Editor and President: Dr. Clive Rayner, D.M.D.) Changes in the way dentists are allowed to promote or advertise sleep dentistry or sedation in the State of Florida are impending, according to the same issue of the Florida Dental Society of Anesthesiology Newsletter. If proposed changes by the Florida Board of Dentistry are made law, the term "sleep dentist" or sleep dentistry" could be used by a dentist in Florida who has a General Anesthesia permit: Typically Oral and Dental Anesthesiologists. Only holders of a General Anesthesia permit would then be allowed to advertise or promote "sleep dentistry" and only dentists who have a Conscious Sedation permit would be able to advertise or promote "sedation dentistry." Only dentists with the General Anesthesia permit are able to deepen sedation to the stage where the a patient is unconscious per existing regulations in Florida. Our practice has the Parenternal Conscious Sedation permit. With this permit and the associated training involved to obtain it: we can provide oral, inhalation, or IV conscious sedation for our patients. General anesthesia is possible for our patients who choose to have their work completed in a local surgery center. General anesthesia is provided by a licensed medical anesthesiologist.
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