Posted by writeradmin
I had been avoiding the dentist for a while. A friend told me that I need to try dental sedation because it changed her life. I scheduled an appointment and told my sister about it. She sent me this article from the NY Post that some guy who had oral conscious sedation and died from complications. Now I am worried that it isn’t safe. Are you familiar with this? Is sedation more dangerous than dentists let on?
Francine
Dear Francine,
I’m going to start by saying that oral conscious sedation has been proven to be quite safe. I am familiar with the news story you were sent. I had to do some extra digging because the article was vague and incomplete. During that digging, I learned a couple of things that should put your mind at ease.
First, the practice that did the procedure did not use oral conscious sedation. The article just said anesthesia, but there are many types of anesthesia, including just a local numbing shot. This practice used general anesthesia on this patient, which is the riskiest of the options.
Second, the patient had been smoking cannabis before the appointment. The dentist claimed he didn’t know and the patient seemed fine. Any type of drug or even an alcoholic beverage can impact how sedation medication works, including general anesthesia.
My suggestion, if you are still concerned, is that you see a sedation dentist who is DOCS certified. These dentists invested in extra training with dental sedation. It’s not required, but they go above and beyond to learn all they can for their patients.
You will find that oral conscious sedation does change people’s lives. Patients who’ve been terrified to see the dentist for years and only going in for dental emergencies, finally find a way to get all of that work done without anxiety or pain.
This blog is brought to you by a compassionate dentist in Baton Rouge, Dr. John Theriot.