Dr. Thompson understands that many people in Austin TX come to the dentist with varying levels of dental anxiety and offers two types of sedation dentistry techniques to help those patients have a more relaxing experience: Nitrous Oxide Sedation, Enteral (Oral) Sedation, or a combination of the two.
Austin Nitrous Oxide Sedation Dentistry
Nitrous oxide is a safe and effective way to help you relax during your dental procedure. Nitrous oxide is mixed with oxygen and inhaled through a small mask that fits over your nose. Dr. Thompson will ask you to just breathe normally through your nose and you will start to feel the relaxing effects of the nitrous oxide. Some of the things that patients feel while breathing nitrous oxide are: a tingling in the fingers and toes, a floating sensation, light-headedness, or “heavy” feeling arms and legs. These are all normal sensations, but if at any time the patient does not like these effects, the great thing about nitrous oxide is that it can be turned off at any time, and the effects wear off within minutes.
Austin Oral Sedation Dentistry
Oral sedation is an option for a patient who does not like the way nitrous oxide makes them feel, or desires to be more heavily sedated with the combination of oral sedation and nitrous oxide. For oral sedation, the patient is simply given a pill in the office one hour before their procedure to start feeling the relaxing effects of the medication. The effects of this type of sedation last longer, and it is required that the patient have someone bring them to and from their dental appointment.
