Gas and air dental sedation

[James R]

Hi

I am very nervous when it comes to having dental treatment carried out in my mouth and would need to be sedated for any difficult dental treatment. I have recently been told that i have a hole in of my teeth which was a surprise because I have not had any new dental fillings for over five years. However, I do need to have this tooth filled and wondered if you thought that gas and air dental sedation could make me deeply sedated enough for this sort of treatment? I don't wish to feel anything during the procedure and would appreciate your advice on this matter.

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

The problem with gas and air dental sedation (inhalation sedation) is that when dentists carry out dentistry, the patients mouth is open and a lot of the sedation gases escape through this route. So the effects of inhalation sedation may not be as deep as multi-drug IV sedation.

However you are having a filling and not complex root canal treatment or oral surgery, so depending on your level of anxiety, inhalation sedation maybe sufficient for your case.