Inhalation Sedation in Dentistry in the dental chair

2 Inhalation Sedation

Inhalation sedation usually refers to ‘nitrous oxide’ or ‘Laughing Gas’.

Nitrous oxide sedation

• Nitrous oxide is very good for pain relief.
• However nitrous oxide when used alone for dental sedation has a failure rate of about 50%.
• Prolonged administration of nitrous oxide as the only agent for sedation, is frequently associated with nausea and vomiting which is very hazardous during dental work when the mouth is obstructed by the dentist.

For these reasons we very rarely use Nitrous Oxide alone, except for the simplest of cases.

Low dose Sevoflurane Inhalation Sedation

At Chartwell we use an advanced type of ‘Inhalation Sedation’ involving the administration of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) together with a low dose of Sevoflurane via a face mask. Sevoflurane is one of the safest volatile anaesthetic anaesthetic agents. We use it in low doses. This induces a state of Conscious Sedation that, unlike Intravenous Sedation, is very easy to control and is very rapidly reversed. Once the patient is sedated, the nitrous oxide is discontinued. The sedation is maintained with 100% oxygen (another safety advantage), together with the lowest concentration of sevoflurane necessary to achieve the co-operation of the patient.

Sevoflurane Inhalation Sedation is particularly suitable for dental phobic patients who have an extreme needle phobia, as sedation is induced without any injections. It is the safest form of sedation for the very elderly, children and patients having simple dental extraction.

“It is our belief that Sevoflurane Inhalation Sedation is the safest and the best form of sedation for very young children.”

Sevoflurane Inhalation Sedation is used when simple Nitrous Oxide sedation is not adequate.

Further information on the use of sevoflurane

Chartwell for children

Chartwell are specialists in paediatric dentistry and sedation. The technique using Low Dose Sevoflurane sedation is particularly suitable for young children. This is much safer than intravenous sedation alone.

A young child’s response to IV sedation can be very variable and difficult to predict. Recovery after the administration of I.V. drugs alone can be quite prolonged.

In contrast to IV sedation, the depth of sedation using inhalation sedation can be easily controlled and after the operation, recovery is much quicker than when larger doses of intravenous sedation drugs are used alone.

We perform over 1000 cases per year using Sevoflurane inhalation sedation and the anaesthetist (European Paedictric Life Support trained) is assisted by a sedation nurse who is Great Ormond Street trained. In our opinion Low dose sevoflurane is the safest technique for young children undergoing sedation in the dental chair.

Chartwell Dental Clinic, specialist sedation clinic, conscious sedation, scared of injections, scared of the dentist, intravenous sedation, paediatric sedation, dental phobic, needle phobic, sevoflurane inhalation sedation, restorative dentistry, oral surgery, orthodontic, periodontal, oral hygienist, dental implant, impacted wisdom teeth, 3rd molar, tooth whitening, crown and bridge, root canal treatment, dental implants, orthodontic exposure, watford anaesthetic clinic, nono care, novocare, cosmetic, tooth, teeth whitening, bleaching, veneer, leagrave dental sedation clinic, family dental clinic, Hertfordshire chartwell anaesthetic, dental clinic, IV sedation, I.V. sedation, dental phobia, scared of the dentist, needle phobia, fear of dentistry