Imagine not being afraid to go to the dentist.
Imagine being able to accomplish all of your care in
as little as one appointment.
At Esthetique Dentistry,
we have a range of pain
management techniques we
can use during your
visit--from local
anesthesia to oral
sedation.
We will discuss your
options with you and
help you make the right
choice.
If you are comfortable
with dental work, we can
limit pain management to
local anesthesia and
perform our procedures
quickly.
If you are petrified
about the thought of
oral and dental
procedures, Sedation
Dentistry can change
your life and your views
on dentistry in a matter
of a few hours while you
sleep.
Call today to see if you
are a candidate for
complete comfort!
Oral Sedation
Oral Sedation Dentistry
protocols have been used
safely for over 30 years
with millions of dental
procedures. Before
starting any treatment
your visit will be
discussed at a
complimentary
consultation
appointment. At that
time you will be able to
inquire with any
questions you may have.
Our experienced dental
personnel will make you
completely comfortable
and we monitor you very
closely while you are
sedated.
Most patients feel no
discomfort whatsoever
and after treatment you
will have little or no
memory of your visit.
You can give yourself or
a member of your family
the gift of great dental
health by calling to
schedule your oral
sedation consultation
today.
Nitrous Oxide
Nitrous Oxide, N2O, also called laughing gas, is a
colorless gas with pleasant, sweetish odor and
taste, which when inhaled produces insensibility to
pain preceded by mild hysteria or laughter.
Nitrous oxide was discovered by the English chemist
Joseph Priestley in 1772, but was named nitrous
oxide by y Davy. The principal use of nitrous oxide
is as an anesthetic in surgical operations of short
duration as prolonged inhalation of nitrous oxide
can cause death.
Nitrous oxide is prepared by the action of zinc on
dilute nitric acid, by the action of hydroxylamine
hydrochloride on sodium nitrite, and, most commonly,
by the decomposition of ammonium nitrate.
Nitrous oxide has very distinct characteristics and
when inhaled, nitrous produces a variety of physical
effects including:
-
Disorientation
-
Fixated vision
-
Throbbing or pulsating auditory hallucinations
-
Similarly pulsating visual hallucinations
-
Increased pain threshold
-
Deeper mental connections
The physiological effects of using nitrous oxide
last approximately a minute for a lungful of nitrous
and then mainly dissipate. Some residual effects may
last up to several minutes later. Nitrous gas works
by infusing into the membranes of the body and
produces an anesthetic effect.
Nitrous oxide is used in roughly one third of dental practices in the United
States, especially to allay anxiety that many patients may have toward dental
treatment, and it offers some degree of painkilling ability. The benefits of
nitrous oxide are many, and the risks are few. The gas is administered with a
comfortable mask placed over the nose, and the patient is instructed to breathe
in through the nose and out through their mouth. As a precaution, patients
should not eat anything for about two hours prior to use of the gas. The patient
begins to feel a pleasant level of sedation in anywhere from 30 seconds to three
or four minutes. The cheeks and gums will also begin to feel numb in about a
third of the patients.
After the gas is adjusted to the appropriate dose, and the patient is relaxed
and sedated, the dentist can comfortably give the anesthetic injection (if
needed) to the patient, and then proceed with dental treatment. After the
treatment is completed, the patient is given pure oxygen to breathe for about
five minutes, and all the effects of sedation are usually reversed. Unlike IV
sedation or general anesthesia, the patient can almost always leave the office
by themselves, without an escort.
Nitrous oxide has few side effects although high
doses can cause nausea in some patients, and about
10% of patients do not benefit from it. Patients
that are claustrophobic or have blocked nasal
passages cannot use nitrous oxide effectively.
Nitrous oxide is one of the safest anesthetics
available.
