4 Types of Anesthesia in San Francisco Dental Clinic

General Anesthesia,administered and maintained by an experienced anesthesiologist, puts you to sleep. The anesthesiologist is SOLELY responsible for your safety, controls your level of sedation, and maintains your airway. General Anesthesia starts acting within seconds and is accurately and predictably controlled. You will be asleep during the procedure. You will be eased back only after everything is completed. There is no danger of you waking up during your appointment. It has never happened.

General Anesthesia is for people with high level of fear toward dental procedures, for longer procedures, for those with special needs like mental or physical disabilities or who are severely medically compromised.

We understand that for patients with high level of anxiety crossing the threshold of a dental facility is hard even when they know they will be asleep during their care. Where appropriate, we arrange for you to take medications to make this step easier.

Intravenous Sedation, or IV Sedation is administered and maintained by an experienced anesthesiologist. IV Sedation puts you to sleep. Although the level of sedation achieved is lower than in General Anesthesia, you will be asleep during the procedure. You will be eased back only after everything is completed. There is no danger of you waking up during your appointment. It has never happened. IV Sedation is generally used for shorter procedures on patients with high level of anxiety when there is no need to artificially maintain your airway. This procedure is safe and predictable. A dedicated anesthesiologist is responsible for your comfort and safety.

We understand that for patients with high level of anxiety crossing the threshold of a dental facility is hard even when they know they will be asleep during their care. We appropriately arrange for you to take medications to make this step easier.

Conscious Sedation is a type of sedation achieved by administering pills. Patients are responsible for starting the regimen at home the night before, in the morning and an hour prior to the procedure. During their appointment, under dentist’s supervision, a staff administers pills to patients, usually under the tongue. Often patients fall asleep and have no recollection of their dental appointment.

Sometimes patients don’t fall asleep; they are just relaxed or drowsy. It is not uncommon for patients, especially for those with high anxiety, to stay completely awake.

Nitrous Oxide, also called Laughing Gas, produces a feeling of relaxation and decreases a very mild form of anxiety in people who need short treatment and want to be a bit more comfortable. It is administered by the dental staff under the dentist’s supervision through a small mask placed on a patient’s nose.

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