Sedation Dentistry

Sedation dentistry allows us to be able to treat anxious patients as well as those with special needs in a safe and comfortable environment. It is a reliable way of managing dental anxiety during various dental procedures with the help of medications.

You can benefit from sedation dentistry if at any time you have experienced one or all of the following:

• Previous traumatic dental experience
• Fear of needles
• Fear of the drill
• Sensitive teeth
• Severe gag reflex
• Difficulty in getting numb
• Complex dental problems
• Special needs due to developmental disabilities

Sedation dentistry that is offered by our office falls into three categories:

Patient relaxes after inhaling a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen gas (also known as laughing gas) provided through a mask for the duration of the dental procedure. This is the most popular and commonly used form of sedation.

Patient has deeper relaxation while still being conscious with the help of oral medication such as Halcion(Triazolam) or Valium(Diazepam). This medication has to be prescribed by the doctor and has to be taken prior to the appointment. Patient has to have a designated driver bring them to the appointment and drive them home after treatment.

Our special needs patients as well as our extremely anxious patients receive dental care under general anesthesia at our state of the art, AAAHC accredited surgery center-GCG. At our surgery center, we have a mobile MD anesthesiologist Dr. Alexander Targ who administers and monitors of the anesthesia of our patients while we treat their dental needs. You can learn more about our surgery center here. GCG Surgery Center

A major problem these days is of a lack of access to care, for people with special needs. There has been lots of coverage in the news about this lately, and some of the problems are financial issues such as the high cost of care, or the lack of insurance coverage. Some offices are simply not equipped to help people with special needs. Children and young adults with physical disabilities or cognitive impairments, cerebral palsy or autism have few to no options for care. Fortunately, our partnerships with physicians and other specialists allow us to care for these patients. We also have partnered with public charities for financial aid for children or young adults under the age of 18, that greatly helps this population of patients. At GCG Surgery Center, we have developed a model of care that provides a solution for our special need patients.