Dental fear and anxiety are incredibly common, but dental phobia should not keep you from getting necessary dental work completed. At Summit Dental of La Mesa, our dentists are pleased to provide two methods of sedation to make your dental visit a more positive experience. These types of dental sedation include oral conscious sedation and nitrous oxide sedation.

  • Oral conscious sedation – for comfort in dental care, many patients choose oral conscious sedation. Oral conscious sedation is used for moderate to severe dental anxieties. Patients are dispensed or prescribed oral sedative medication.  One pill is taken the night before their appointment for a good night’s sleep. Then one hour before the scheduled appointment, they take another pill. Transportation is required to and from the dental appointment, but patients arrive conscious and able to follow directions and ask questions. After their appointment, they are transported home to rest and will often awaken with little to no recollection of their dental visit. This allows anxious patients the opportunity to obtain necessary dental care even if they have a fear of the dentist.
  • Nitrous oxide sedation – alternatively, patients with mild anxieties or other conditions such as a strong gag reflex might fare better with nitrous oxide sedation. This is a gas that patients inhale through the nose which is titrated to provide relaxation throughout the body. It is commonly known as laughing gas.  Patients react to it differently, but some just doze off in the dental chair as their work is being done. We monitor the amount of sedation to ensure optimum comfort during a patient’s entire procedure. When the dental work is complete, our team administers oxygen through the device to reverse the effect and allow the patient to feel “back to normal” before they leave. 95% of patients using this method of sedation do not need to arrange transportation as it is safe to drive afterward.

Discuss sedation options with our team of professionals

Whether you are considering nitrous oxide sedation or oral conscious sedation, our team is here to help. Contact the office by calling (619) 494-2492 to request an appointment at our practice, conveniently located at 8530 La Mesa Boulevard, Suite #204.