Oral Conscious Sedation in San Tan Valley, AZ

With oral conscious sedation, your anxiety will decrease and you'll feel comfortable during your dental treatment. Rest assured, you will stay conscious throughout the procedure. With this type of sedation, we provide medication that relaxes your body and mind. If you undergo this type of sedation procedure, we ask that you have someone else drive you on the day of your treatment. Nonetheless, the effects of the sedation do not linger, so you will feel alert and back to your normal state again soon after treatment.

• Medication taken before your visit, so anxiety eases before you arrive
• You remain conscious and able to respond throughout
• Well suited to longer appointments and higher dental anxiety
• Effects do not linger long after treatment
• Requires someone to drive you to and from your appointment

Oral conscious sedation is a deeper level of relaxation than nitrous oxide, which makes it a good fit for patients whose anxiety is significant enough that simply being in the chair is difficult, and for longer appointments where staying relaxed for an extended period matters. Because the medication is taken before your appointment, the calming effect begins before treatment starts. For many patients the hardest part of a dental visit is the anticipation, and this addresses that directly. It also makes it practical to complete more treatment in a single visit. Patients who would otherwise need several short appointments can often have that work consolidated, which means fewer trips and less time spent anxious about upcoming visits.

Dr. Gifford reviews your health history and current medications first, then prescribes medication and gives you clear instructions on when to take it relative to your appointment time. You will need someone to drive you to the office and home again. During treatment you remain conscious and able to respond, though many patients feel drowsy and remember comparatively little of the appointment afterward. We monitor you throughout. Local anesthetic is still used as normal for any procedure that requires it. Afterward, the effects wear off over the remainder of the day rather than immediately. Plan on taking it easy, and do not drive or operate machinery until the following day unless we tell you otherwise. Most patients feel alert and back to normal soon after treatment.