Patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Down’s syndrome, or other genetic disorders require special care and attention. Dental sedation can help such patients undergo the dental procedures they need in a hassle-free and safe manner.
If your loved ones need specialized care, contact Dr. Aida Galan, D.M.D., at Galan DNTL in San Jose, California. This blog will help you understand the different sedation options available for patients with special needs.
What Is Dental Sedation?
Dental sedation uses sedatives to keep patients calm and relaxed. Dentists use different types of sedation depending on various factors such as the patient’s condition, their age, as well as the procedures they need to undergo.
Dentists carefully examine the patient’s medical history and decide which kind of sedation is appropriate.
Types of Dental Sedation for Special Needs
The sedation options used in dentistry for special needs patients include:
Inhalation Sedation
Laughing gas, also known as nitrous oxide, is a lighter form of dental sedation. It is administered through a mask placed over the patient’s nose.
With inhalation sedation, the patient is awake the entire time and usually recovers within 15 minutes. There are no major side effects to inhalation sedation.
Oral Sedation
When using oral sedation, the prescribed sedatives are administered orally. Various medications are used as oral sedatives with different outcomes. Oral sedatives calm the patient down or even put them to sleep.
In some cases, oral sedation may not be the best choice due to certain medical conditions or the patient’s age. Therefore, you should always discuss with the doctor about your medical history.
Intravenous Sedation
For this type of sedation, a continuous dose of the sedative drug is administered through the patient’s vein. Intravenous sedation is used in complicated dental procedures that take a long time to complete or for patients that are not cooperative.
As the medication is administered intravenously, it reaches the bloodstream quickly and shows effects within a few seconds. The patient feels drowsy throughout the procedure but can still interact with the dentist san jose. In some cases, the patient does not even have a complete memory of the procedure.
If you have any doubts regarding dental sedation options for special needs, feel free to consult Dr. Aida Galan at Galan DNTL. You can reach us at (408) 377-8200 or at 1706 Hamilton Ave, San Jose, CA 95125.