The Toothache That Changed My Life

If you need to have a tooth extracted, you may be worried about what your choices are to relieve pain. No one enjoys suffering from pain and sometimes just the thought of pain that may happen can cause a person to have severe anxiety. Because of these reasons, dental procedures will often be done with the administration of a pain relieving agent before starting. Here are a few of the methods that your dentist's office might use to help relax you and dull your pain during a tooth extraction.

How Sedation Or Anesthesia Is Administered

There are a few different ways that sedation can be administered. One way is with the use of a pill that will relax the body. This will help you get through the procedure without making any abrupt movements that may hinder the doctor from performing the procedure safely. Another way sedation can be administered is through the use of an oxygen mask where it would be inhaled as an air form. Another way sedation or anesthesia medicine is administered is through an IV in the hand or lower arm area.

What Different Levels Of Sedation Are Available

When you are about to have the procedure started, the dentist will talk to you to find out exactly how scared you are of the procedure to get a feel for what kind of sedation method they may want to use. They will also ask about your pain threshold. If you are terrified, they may start with a more aggressive method in sedating. If you seem pretty calm, they will most likely start out with less medicine and will increase it if you seem to need more during the procedure.

Sedation can be given in a small dosage where you will be coherent and awake for the procedure. You could have moderate sedation where you would be awake, but the medicine would cause amnesia so you will not remember anything that had happened. You could have a general anesthesia given, in which case you would be in a sleep-like state during the process. The amount of the medicine you are administered determines how much sedation you will have for your procedure.

Pain Relief

Each of these methods will be coupled with a local anesthetic to help numb the pain during the process. You will have it given in an injection form and quickly your mouth will become numb. The procedure will be done before you regain feeling in your mouth. Afterward, your dentist may prescribe a pain reliever to help with swelling and pain from any incisions. Click here for additional information on sedation dentistry.