Overview

Sedation is medicine that makes you feel sleepy. It relaxes your body and mind.

You sometimes have sedation during dental treatments to keep you calm if you feel anxious. Even people who do not feel anxious choose to have sedation for some dental treatments, such as having teeth removed (extractions).

Sedation can also help make dental treatment possible and more comfortable for people who are not able to receive care in general dental practice.

Not everyone needs sedation, and not all options are suitable for everyone. The dentist you see at your assessment will talk with you about your needs and help decide what is most appropriate.

Sedation is different from a general anaesthetic, which makes you unconscious (asleep).

Types of sedation

There are different ways sedation can be given. The dentist will explain which options may be suitable for you.

Inhalation sedation 

This involves breathing a mixture of oxygen and a calming gas through a small nosepiece. Many people feel relaxed, warm or slightly light‑headed. You recover quickly after treatment.

Intravenous (IV) sedation 

This involves giving a sedative medicine through a small plastic tube placed in a vein in your arm or hand. It makes you feel deeply relaxed, and many people remember very little about their treatment afterwards.

Oral sedation

Oral sedation is when we give you a drink that contains sedation medicine. When you’re relaxed, the dental team might need to give you more medicine through a vein in your arm or hand (intravenous sedation).

Oral sedation is not suitable for a lot of people. This is because it can take a long time for the sedation to start working and for you to feel relaxed.

Intranasal sedation

This involves a small spray of sedative medicine into your nose. It can sting slightly and may make you sneeze. Once you are more relaxed, we will place a thin plastic tube into a vein in your arm or hand and may give you more medicine.

We usually use this type of sedation for people who are very afraid of injections, or for people who need extra support and find it difficult to stay still for intravenous sedation.

Other treatment options

Local anaesthetic (without sedation)

Local anaesthetic is an injection into your gum that numbs the area being treated. You should not feel any pain, but you will be fully awake and aware.

Many people have dental treatment using local anaesthetic alone. It can also be used alongside sedation to make treatment more comfortable.

General anaesthetic

Another option is general anaesthetic. This is a medicine that gives a state of controlled unconsciousness during an operation or procedure. It is like being asleep and you do not feel anything.

There are more risks with having a general anaesthetic. It is for people who are unable to have treatment under sedation, or people who need a lot of treatment.  

Before you can have a general anaesthetic, you need a separate assessment by the dentist and possibly an anaesthetist.