At Oasis Dental, we understand many patients are fearful of dental procedures. Therefore, Dr. Linda Gherman offers both oral and nitrous oxide sedation alternatives for those who need them. In oral sedation, a prescription pill, usually a benzodiazepine such as Valium or Ativan, is taken one hour prior to the dental visit. The medicine reduces your anxiety, and sometimes causes mild drowsiness. Therefore, you should not drive yourself to and from the appointment.
Nitrous Oxide, popularly known as laughing gas, is an odorless, colorless gas administered along oxygen that you breathe in through a small mask at the time of a stressful procedure. Dr. Gherman adjusts it slowly up to a comfortable level that reduces anxiety and also provides analgesia. Patients often experience a warm feeling of relaxation, tingling in the extremities, and a sensation of floating. Nitrous oxide is a safe sedation alternative and its effects dissipate 3-5 minutes after the gas is stopped with no hangover-type symptoms.