What is Dental Sedation?
Dental sedation refers to a variety of techniques used to make patients more comfortable during dental procedures. Our dentists can help determine if a dental sedation option is right for you.
At LightHouse Dental Kingston, we do everything we can to help patients feel relaxed and comfortable during their dental appointments. In addition to offering sedation options, we will work at your pace, take breaks when you need them, and provide calm reassurance as needed.
Nitrous Oxide (Laughing Gas)
N2O - often called nitrous oxide - is a sedative that is inhaled through the mouth and nose alongside oxygen. This gas is colourless and may be either odourless or sweet-smelling.
This substance has been used as a surgical and dental sedation treatment since the mid-1800s.
Nitrous oxide doesn't put patients to sleep. It instead is a form of "conscious sedation."
You will be aware, and able to respond to comments or questions from your dentist, but you will feel a sense of calm, relaxation and good humour. This sedation also can lessen anxiety, reduce the gag reflex and make time seem to pass more quickly.
The N2O Sedation Process
Before your dental procedure begins, we will provide you with a mask that will pump a mixture of N2O and Oxygen into the air that you breathe. We will instruct you to breathe in to allow the sedative to take effect.
When the nitrous oxide takes effect, many patients report a sense of calm, relaxation and good humour (thus, the common term for of laughing gas).
After your treatment when nitrous oxide has been used, its effects generally dissipate relatively quickly. To help with this, we will use oxygen-rich air to help flush the sedative gas from your lungs.