How is IV sedation adminstered?

[Levi]

Hi

I find dentistry terrifying but I know that I need to have some dental work done. I have not been to see a dentist in over 11 years and the last occasion that I went to see a dentist was not a pleasant one and that is why I have not been back for so long.

Could you tell me how is IV sedation adminstered? I have had oral sedation before and it did not work very well, is IV sedation likely to be more effective?

[Dr Mohsen J. Esfahani]

Thank you for your post.

Iv sedation is administered through an IV line on the back of the hand or in your arm. The IV line stays there through out the procedure and this is useful because more IV sedation drugs could be added at any time if the level of sedation is found to be inadequate. IV sedation works almost instantly and so the drugs be titrated in this way to the level that each patient needs for really good sedation.

Oral sedation on the other hand takes too long to become active, so there is no point in topping up oral sedation during the procedure and so the results of oral sedation are much more unpredictable. Sometimes oral sedation works well and other times it doesn't work.

In my opinion, IV sedation is a much more effective form of sedation for dental procedures.