Nitrous oxide
Laughing gas. The mildest of the three and the fastest acting, with the shortest recovery. In most cases you can drive yourself home afterwards. Some patients still fall asleep in the chair, which is often exactly the point.
HomeSedation Dentistry
Long appointments that pass in what feels like minutes.
Full-arch surgery takes hours. Sedation is what turns those hours into something you do not remember, and what makes it possible to do the whole case in one sitting instead of five.
Who It Is For
Avoiding the chair has a medical cost of its own.
Dental anxiety is not a character flaw and it is not rare. What makes it worth solving is what it delays: gum disease and other oral disease are associated with raised risk of diabetes, stroke and cardiovascular disease. Postponing treatment out of fear is a decision with consequences beyond the mouth.
Sedation is offered here for any procedure, not only surgery. It is worth asking about if any of these are true:
- The dentist’s chair frightens you, or has done since childhood
- You have a strong or unpredictable gag reflex
- You have a low tolerance for pain
- You need several treatments, or a surgery that will take hours
- You have been putting off care you know you need
The Options
Three levels, chosen to the case and to you.
Which one is right depends on the extent of treatment and on your own medical history. Oral and IV sedation are administered by a medical anaesthesiologist.
Oral sedation
Taken before the appointment, administered under the supervision of a medical anaesthesiologist. Deeper than nitrous. Transport to and from the practice needs arranging in advance.
IV sedation
The strongest option available, reserved for severe dental anxiety and for long surgical cases. Most patients have no memory of the appointment at all. Transport both ways is required.
Why It Is Safe Here
Sedation is a credential, not a service line.
Plenty of practices refer sedation out. Dr. Nahlah holds an IV Sedation Certificate and hospital privileges at Inova Fairfax, the only Level 1 trauma hospital in Northern Virginia, and works with a medical anaesthesiologist for oral and IV cases.
That combination is what lets a full-arch case be planned as one long sitting rather than split across visits to accommodate someone else’s schedule.
Questions
What people want to know.
Will I be unconscious?
Not in the general-anaesthetic sense. Under IV sedation most patients drift and have no memory of the procedure afterwards; you remain responsive throughout. Nitrous is lighter still: you stay awake and simply stop minding.
Can I drive myself home?
After nitrous oxide, in most cases yes, because recovery is quick. After oral or IV sedation, no: transport to and from the appointment has to be arranged in advance.
Is sedation only for surgery?
No. It is available for any procedure. If anxiety or a gag reflex is what has kept you away from routine care, say so when you book.
Who administers it?
Oral and IV sedation are administered by a medical anaesthesiologist, depending on the extent of treatment and your personal health.
Where to go next.
Say you’re nervous when you call.
It changes how the appointment is planned, and it is the most useful thing you can tell us in advance.
McLean · (571) 619-9442Alexandria · (571) 410-3430