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Cost Many of our treatments can be carried out under sedation for an additional cost. £100 per session. When a drug, usually of the anti-anxiety variety, is administered into the blood system during dental treatment, this is referred to as Intravenous Conscious Sedation (aka "IV sedation"). This page answers the most common questions regarding conscious IV sedation. What does it feel like? Will I be asleep? You may not remember much about what went on because of two factors: firstly, in most people, IV sedation induces a state of deep relaxation and a feeling of not being bothered by what's going on. Secondly, the drugs used for IV sedation can produce either partial or full memory loss (amnesia) for the period of time when the drug first kicks in until it wears off. As a result, time will appear to pass very quickly and you will not recall much, or perhaps even nothing at all, of what happened. So it may, indeed, appear as if you were "asleep" during the procedure. Is it still necessary to be numbed with local anaesthetic? Will my dentist numb my gums before or after I'm sedated? The drugs which are usually used for IV sedation are not painkillers (although some pain-killing drugs are occasionally added, see below for a more detailed discussion), but anti-anxiety drugs. While they relax you and make you forget what happens, you will still need to be numbed. If you have a fear of injections, you will not be numbed until the IV sedation has fully kicked in. If you have a phobia of needles, you will very probably be relaxed enough not to care by this stage. Your dentist will then wait until the local anaesthetic has taken effect (i. e. until you're numb) before starting on any procedure. How does the dentist know whether I'm numb? You check the local anesthetic has worked by asking the patient. Just because you are sedated doesn't mean you can't answer. How is IV sedation administered? A Venflon "Intravenous" means that the drug is put into a vein. An extremely thin needle is put into a vein close to the surface of the skin in either the arm or the back of your hand. This needle is wrapped up with a soft plastic tube. The needle makes the entry into the vein, then is slid out leaving the soft plastic tube in place. The drugs are put in through that tube. The tube stays in place throughout the procedure. What drugs are used? Are there different types of IV sedation? Midazolam and Diazepam Mostly the drug used for IV sedation is a short acting benzodiazepine, or "benzo" for short. This is an anti-anxiety sedative. IV administered benzos have 3 main effects: they reduce anxiety/relax you, they make you sleepy, and they produce partial or total amnesia (i. e. make you forget what happened during some or, less frequently, all of the procedure). Total amnesia is more common with midazolam compared to diazepam (see below). |

| Is it safe? Are there any IV sedation is EXTREMELY safe when carried out under the supervision of a specially-trained even safer than local anaesthetic on its own! However, contraindications include pregnancy, known allergy to benzos, alcohol intoxication, CNS depression, and some instances of glaucoma. Cautions include psychosis, impaired lung or kidney or liver function, and advanced age. Heart disease is generally not a contraindication. What are the main advantages of IV sedation?
Are there any disadvantages?
You should WANT to be sedated. If, for any reason, you're unwilling to "let go", for example because you don't like not being in control, it will be more difficult to be successfully sedated. After IV Sedation
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