Safety and Side Effects

How safe is oral conscious sedation?

Adult oral conscious sedation is one of the safest techniques in dentistry.

At Santa Teresa Dental, Dr. Huang takes extreme care and monitors patients’ vital signs using a pulse oximeter/blood pressure monitor. This monitor measures blood pressure every five minutes and continuously measures pulse rate and blood oxygen before, during, and after a sedation procedure.

Additionally, we require the patient to be dismissed to a responsible caregiver who will drive them home.

Once home, the patient is to stay with their companion until all of the effects of the sedation have worn off.

Are there any side effects of these sedation medications?

• Retrograde amnesia

  The patients have little or no recollection of the treatment. It is not uncommon for Dr. Huang to get calls from patients who are amazed that they don’t remember the appointment. When asked, “Have you looked in the mirror yet?” The patient excitedly realizes that they have a new smile, yet they have no memory of the treatment being performed!

• Less post-operative soreness

  Patients will no longer routinely require post-operative pain medications. They often recover sooner and are less sore than they would have been without oral conscious sedation. This is the anecdotal experience of hundreds of thousands of cases.

• Dry mouth

  During a sedation appointment, the sedative will decrease salivary flow and allow the dentist to perform treatment in a dryer environment.

• Hiccups

  A small percentage of patients (3%) will experience a period of hiccups lasting no longer than 10 minutes. They are self-limiting.