Sedation Options

Sedation dentistry allows your child to be sedated just enough to be pain free and unaware of the treatment, as if he or she were relaxing. That is why it is sometimes referred to as conscious sedation dentistry. 

Sedation Dentistry is especially useful for patients who:

  Have high anxiety about dental visits 
  Have had traumatic dental experiences in the past 
  Have difficulty getting numb 
  Have a strong gag reflex 
  Have TMJ troubles and cannot open their mouth for extended periods 
  Have sensitive teeth 
  Hate the noises and/or smells associated with dental care

While many younger patients in the dental care office are cooperative and manageable without the need for sedation dentistry, there are a significant number of children who cannot tolerate dental care without the use of sedation during treatment. 

Whatever the case may be, sedation can help your child be more anxiety free during the dental treatment. Dr. Vickie's ultimate goal is to make your child's visit to the dentist a relaxing and enjoyable one. Since your child will be completely comfortable, relaxed, and pain free, Dr. Vickie can do years of dental treatments, if necessary, in one or two dental visits.

With sedation Dr. Vickie can restore sore gums to good dental health, fix a chipped tooth, whiten yellow or stained teeth, and more. All pain free.


I.V. Sedation
I.V. (intraveneous) sedation uses medications administered directly into the patient's blood stream. The HUGE advantage here is that if your child is not as "deep" as Dr. Vickie would like them to be (for their comfort) she may easily use more medication and its effects are instantaneous. 

Orally Administered Sedation
This form of sedation is a pill or liquid that the patient swallows. The advantages include:

less costly than I.V. sedation
easier to administer
almost all people respond very favorably to orally administered sedation

The disadvantages with this method include:

level of anesthesia is less predictable (body weight, genetics, previous drug history will increase or decrease the amount of actual sedation experienced)
initial time delay as well as subsequent time delays if it becomes necessary to increase the dosage

Frequently Asked Questions

  Will my child be unconscious? 

No, your child will be very relaxed, but will be able to respond. Your child will probably not, however, remember any of his/her visit.

  Will I need to stay at the office with my child?

Yes, a parent or legal guardian must remain in the office during treatment.

  Will my child feel anything?

No, your child will feel no discomfort.

  How long will my child be snoozing?

Your child will be sedated for 2 to 8 hours, depending on their dental care needs.