No need to

Oral sedation is a way of making you feel more at ease during treatment. It doesn’t put you to sleep like a general anaesthetic; you’re still conscious and able to talk with your dentist. Instead, it puts you into a deeply relaxed state, where you won’t feel any discomfort or pain.

Oral sedation is administered by Intravenous (IV) sedation, where a sedative is injected into your vein, or you inhale a sedative gas through a mask that your dentist places over your nose and mouth.

Dental sedation is a technique whereby a sedative drug is given to help people relax. It is important to note that sedation is different to general anaesthesia. With sedation, you will stay awake but feel drowsy and much less aware of what is happening around you.

The sedative drugs will not have the ability to numb the teeth, so a dental injection is still necessary. However, you will be in a much more relaxed state before numbing of the teeth is carried out.

The short answer is yes, but some sedation methods (for example intravenous) tend to be reserved for older teenagers or adults. As a rule, for people aged under 12 years old, the choice of sedation method would be inhalation sedation.

Sedation can be used during many treatments including wisdom tooth surgery, routine and complex tooth removals, jaw-joint issues, removal of lumps in the mouth and dental implants. Dentists may also recommend sedation for patients with complex medical histories or hidden disabilities and patients that suffer with dental anxiety.

It is common to feel fatigued after any oral surgery procedure, especially if you have been sedated. Patients must be accompanied home by a relative or friend, and we recommend that you rest for the remainder of the day.