Sedation for root canals in Denver and Highlands Ranch

Fear and anxiety has been shown time and time again to be a barrier for many patients to seek dental care they want to have done.  In many instances this fear has lead to a deterioration of their dental health to the point where extraction of the offending tooth or… a  root canal is the only alternative.  For many patients “minimal” sedation may help get you through the procedure.  For others moderate or deep sedation may be the answer. Currently our Denver and Highlands Ranch sedation dentists are providing sedation dentistry for their patients needing a root canal.  Please call (303) 694-9740 to see if sedation dentistry is for you.

Studies cited by Malamed (2010) indicate that many patients request some type of dental sedation for a root canal. The range of sedation requested ranges from something as simple as nitrous oxide all the way up to general anesthesia in a hospital setting.  The good news is that many (but not all) patients can be effectively treated with either nitrous oxide or “minimal” sedation and local anesthetics

Don’t wait till a tooth hurts to seek care!

Our Denver and Highlands Ranch dental office want you to seek treatment before it becomes an emergency.  As a general rule… the earlier the intervention the greater success and comfort for the procedure. Waiting until the offending tooth to form an abscyss in not recommended. The infection and swelling can become so severe that the only alternative is extraction.

Sedation Dentistry treatment algorithm

Our goal is to use the sedation protocol that will accomplish our task as simply as possible.  As the patient proceeds down the algorithm the more complex the sedation becomes and the general risks increase.  While sedation dentistry is very safe… every attempt should be make to solve you anxiety and fear problem at the lowest level possible.  The algorithm is as follows and includes profound local anesthesia

• Early intervention with local anesthesia
• Nitrous oxide/oxygen sedation
• Oral Sedation (anxiolysis)
• “Minimal Sedation” with oral medication with our without nitrous oxide/oxygen
• “Moderate Sedation” “usually with I.V. sedation
• “Deep Sedation”
• “General anesthesia” in a hospital setting

Preoperative evaluation

As a general rule of thumb some type of preoperative evaluation needs to be done in order to have any sedation past the nitrous oxide/oxygen level. First the prognosis on the offending tooth needs to be reasonable.  Patient expectations of the sedation level needs to be realistic with the proposed level.  Root canal are successful bu 5-10% of root canals fail so informed consent needs to be given to the patient for both the root canal AND the sedation protocol PRIOR to any sedation administered! General health status of the patient needs to be evaluated an appropriate medical consultations completed.

Rules of Sedation

While these two and “not” the only rules of sedation by any means… these two “rules” are most appropriate.  First you MUST have a driver to take you home and monitor you after  your sedation AND you must not have had anything to eat and drink 6 hour prior to the procedure. Driving while impaired is risky to yourself and to the public in general.  Nausea and vomiting while uncommon can produce significant post operative problems

Call our Denver Sedation Dentists today

Please call (303) 694-9740 for an appointment today.

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