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Dental treatment under sedation
Sedation is a procedure which aims to reach patient's state of relaxation and tranquility during the visit at the dentist. In most cases, this procedure is applicable for children, because children are emotionally sensitive group of patients, which finds it difficult to safely and quietly sit in a chair during the entire dental procedure. The principle of sedation – the patient is awake during the procedure, can freely communicate with the dentist, while feeling calm and unstrained at the same time.
Midazolam, a medicine of benzodiazepine group, is used to induce sedation. This medicine is recommended by International Guidelines for Sedation as maximally safe in pediatric dental practice and suitable for young children. Midazolam can be used intraorally (by giving the patient to swallow) or intranasally (injecting into the nostril, where it is absorbed through the mucous membranes). A safe dose is selected strictly according to the regulation of Sedation Guidelines, depending on the patient's weight. For maximum safety and reliability, only one type of medicine is used during the sedation, so that accurate predictions on medication effects and duration can be made.
Sedation procedure:
The drug starts working in 15-20 minutes after the consumption – that is the average time needed to wait until the dental procedure. During this time the patient calms down, becomes more cheerful, tensions subside, patient may have impaired coordination. Parents are asked to stay close during the procedure, to form more intimate and more secure environment. Only after the verification, that sedation is working, dental manipulation can be started. One of the parents is allowed and even recommended to stay with the young patient in dental office.
Positive aspects of children sedation:
- The possibility to perform more dental interventions in single visit;
- Increased willingness to cooperate with the dentist;
- Decreased anxiety;
- Relaxation;
- Increased comfort feeling;
- The short-term amnesia – the patient does not remember the great part or all dental procedures;
- Improved quality of dental services.
Effects of sedation:
Sedation induced effects remain for some time after the dental procedure. Residual effects, depending on how quickly the drug is being broken down in the body, can take from 3-8 hours to 1 day after the procedure. They may experience sleepiness, easy disorientation, irritability, impaired coordination, slow language. For a small group of patients sedation may not give the desired effect. Patients can remain partly activate (anxiety and agitation persists, but patient does not remember discomfort after the procedure), or – on the contrary – can become hyperactive and restless. Patient and his relatives should be familiar with all these aspects of the procedure, so that temporary changes of relative’s behavior would not cause anxiety or fear. The risk of overdose is minimal, however, in such cases antidote is available, which immediately removes the effect of midazolam. If you have any questions, it is necessary to contact the doctor who carried out the sedation.
Review pre-sedation instructions prior to the sedation procedure.
Sedation allows dentist to create maximally comfortable and safe environment for patients who has anxiety and experience unusual amount of stress during the visit.
