Anesthesia / Sedation
At Southern New Jersey Oral Surgery, we understand that patients are very nervous and anxious to have any oral surgery procedure. We are here to make your experience as pleasant as possible. The sedation that we offer will put you asleep and make you feel comfortable during your procedure. Several methods of anesthesia are available for your convenience. The method of anesthesia that is chosen for or by a patient depends upon the nature of the surgical procedure and the patient’s level of apprehension.
Under Local Anesthesia, the patient remains totally conscious throughout the procedure. A local anesthetic (e.g. Lidocaine) is administered in the area where the surgery is to be performed. Local anesthetic is used in conjunction with the other methods of anesthesia in all oral surgery procedures.
“Several methods of anesthesia are available for your convenience.
Intravenous Sedation (Twilight Sedation)
Our office offers our patients the option of Intravenous Sedation or Dental Intravenous Anesthesia or to some it is referred to as “Twilight Sedation” for their dental treatment. Intravenous Sedation or “twilight sleep” helps you to be comfortable and calm when undergoing dental procedures. Your treatment can be completed under intravenous sedation. Intravenous sedation or “IV sedation” (twilight sedation) is designed to better enable you to undergo your dental procedures while you are very relaxed; it will enable you to tolerate as well as not remember those procedures that may be very uncomfortable for you. IV sedation will essentially help alleviate the anxiety associated with your treatment. You may not always be asleep but you will be comfortable, calm and relaxed, drifting in and out of sleep – a “twilight sleep”.
If you choose the option of intravenous sedation, your IV sedation/anesthesia is administered and monitored by the doctor in a clinical same day surgical facility. Therefore, you are eliminating the costly expense of having your treatment carried out in an operating room at the hospital.
How is the IV Sedation Administered?
A thin needle will be introduced into a vein in your arm or hand. The needle will be attached to an intravenous tube through which medication will be given to help you relax and feel comfortable. At times a patient’s vein may not be maintainable, in these situations the medications will be administered and the needle retrieved – both scenarios will achieve the same desired level of conscious sedation. Once again, some patients may be asleep while others will slip in and out of sleep. Some patients with medical conditions and/or on specific drug regimens may only be lightly sedated and may not sleep at all.
The goal of IV sedation is to use as little medication as possible to get the treatment completed. It is very safe, much safer than oral sedation. With IV sedation a constant “drip” is maintained via the intravenous tube. At any time, an antidote can be administered to reverse the effects of the medications if necessary. Along with IV sedation there are also other different “levels” of sedation available to you in our office. Please call our SNJ Oral Surgery office for more information at 856-428-4445.
