Fear of the dentist often plays tricks on us, and so we tend to postpone interventions and any appointments, with all the risks and problems that derive from it. In addition to the actual surgical operation, sometimes what is actually scary is the anesthesia itself, often considered insufficient to cover the pain or even dangerous for health.

On the one hand, therefore, some patients would like to be subjected to total anesthesia, so as not to run the risk of feeling pain. On the other hand, they would like to avoid it completely and instead require another type of treatment: conscious sedation.

Conscious sedation: what is it

The conscious sedation (also called sedation anesthesia) consists of a anesthetic technique which aims to experience a state of relaxation, encouraging amnesia and pain control.

The result is that the patient, although remaining conscious, does not feel any pain but above all does not remember anything about the operation in question. What is important is that the conscious sedation does not imply the loss of protected reflexes, i.e. the ability to maintain the autonomous breathing and to respond appropriately to physical stimuli and verbal commands.

However, it is good to know that even the conscious sedation, per quanto sicura, potrebbe comportare rischi and contraindications. Di conseguenza, prima di sottoporvisi bisognerebbe sapere se vi sono le condizioni per poterlo fare.

Sedazione cosciente: chi può farla?

Innanzitutto la conscious sedation può essere praticata e si rivela molto utile con i dental phobic patients or anxious, heart patients, hypertensives, or even epileptics. This is because it is able to reduce the negative impact of stress and strong emotions. All this also applies to disabled patients. In this case, in fact, dental care is made more difficult due to the patient's excessive restlessness. Thanks to conscious sedation it is possible to bring the patient into a situation of greater peace of mind reducing aggression and motor disorders.

Otherwise, the conscious sedation it is not recommended for women state of pregnancy, both in the first three months and in the third trimester, as there is the possibility that the sedation favors the early delivery.

Not only that, even in case of breathing difficulties, severe colds, chronic bronchitis, it would be better to avoid it as it could be difficult to practice sedation. Between the contraindications others also include serious illness such as acute bronchopneumonia, emphysema, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia, etc.

Conscious sedation: how it works

First, before performing sedation, the anesthetist or dentist responsible for the procedure checks the clinical history of the patient. In particular, the evaluation must be carried out a few days before the operation and, here, the surgical and sedation techniques most suitable for the specific case must be identified.

At this point you can proceed with sedation, which is performed using a cannula inserted intravenously, through which drugs. During sedation, vital parameters are constantly monitored. In some cases, the drugs are also associated with the inhalation of nitrous oxide, which combined with oxygen does not present any contraindications.

The nitrous oxide, is eliminated within 2-3 minutes, so the only recommendation is not to start driving immediately.

Naturally, as in all things, the success of sedation will depend greatly on the staff who perform it and on whether it is implemented following safety protocols and in the appropriate environments. We at Implant House we also practice this type of anesthesia. To do this we make use of professional anesthetists, perfectly capable of checking the correct implementation of the procedures, in order to offer maximum professionalism and safety.