Many patients who have qualms about their routine dental appointments grow even more anxious when facing a complex surgery. Fortunately, Dr. Steven A Koos, an oral surgeon and sedation dentist serving Chicago, can ease these patients’ minds by offering them a worry-free dental experience.

Using sedation dentistry, Dr. Koos will administer a medication—typically a benzodiazepine—that deeply relaxes the patient and eliminates the fear factor. That medication is delivered intravenously along with nitrous oxide (laughing gas) for patients who are afraid of needles and more invasive procedures. Patients’ vital signs are closely monitored while they are under sedation to ensure the safest possible experience.

For patients under sedation, a few hours can feel more like a few minutes. Because sedation dentistry gives oral surgeons the opportunity to work on patients for more extended periods of time, it is particularly valuable for patients who are undergoing complex procedures, such as dental implants, wisdom teeth removal and other oral surgeries. In fact, some procedures that might require numerous appointments under regular circumstances can be completed in just a handful of sessions with sedation dentistry.

Although sedation dentistry is sometimes referred to as “sleep dentistry,” the patient remains conscious throughout the entire procedure. This allows the patient to continue to respond to the commands of the sedation dentist. In this way, sedation dentistry provides a possible alternative to general anesthesia, which renders patients unconscious. Patients also recover more quickly from sedation than from general anesthesia, but the difference is negligible.

Patients who take advantage of sedation dentistry or general anesthesia gain another benefit, because they have no recollection of the procedure at the end of the appointment.

If oral surgery has been recommended to treat a condition in your case but your fear has kept you from scheduling an appointment, consider sedation dentistry at our Chicago oral surgery practice as a solution to your problem. It’s best to have smaller issues fixed before they become big ones, so call 312.328.9000 to schedule a consultation with Dr. Koos for comprehensive care.