Types of Anesthesia

Anesthesia provides freedom from pain and may even make the dental procedure safer for you if you have certain medical conditions aggravated by stress. There are several types of anesthesia: general, intravenous conscious sedation, nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and local (Novocaine) and conscious "pill" sedation. Dr. Davies has extensive hospital training and 30 years experience with all of these techniques with a perfect safety record.

General Anesthesia with nasal intubation is a common type of anesthesia for surgery in the hospital but is rare in the California dental office (for adults) because of its side effects and potential dangers. You are in a sleep state during the surgery and have no pain. Your entire body is numb, not just your mouth which is the only area that needs to be pain free. You will remember little about the surgery or recovery period but that cannot be guaranteed.  Because of these risks Dr. Davies, like over 90% of providers, will not intubate non-special needs adults in the office. There are several methods of delivering general anesthesia without placing a breathing tube down the back of your throat (or nose) and into your lungs. Many anesthetic drugs are now available to avoid the tube, and they help make your anesthesia safer than ever before. The selection of which drugs depends on your physical condition and the type and length of surgery you are having. Although very safe, general anesthesia usually has more potential risks than intravenous conscious sedation with local anesthesia.

Intravenous sedation means a controlled state of extreme relaxation with rare memory of the procedure. It is administered by Dr. Davies through an intravenous (IV) line. To be totally effective, local anesthesia must also be administered. Local anesthesia (like Novacaine) is used to numb only a specific part of the mouth. It allows the patient to co-operate when necessary without memory allowing for the highest possible quality of dentistry.

With either general anesthesia or intravenous deep sedation, Dr. Davies will prescribe a sleeping pill for you to take the night prior to your appointment and a tranquilizer (like Valium) for you to take one hour prior to your dental visit. After all the monitors are placed, you may be given nitrous oxide and oxygen to relax you further and Dr. Davies will start an intravenous line with a very small needle that most patients don't even feel. This produces far less discomfort than a simple blood test. After the IV line is in place, he will administer medications until you are are in a state of extreme relaxation or sleep. At that point, he will administer a local anesthetic (numbing medicine). Intravenous sedation allows the benefits of a general anesthetic (amnesia, pain free state) and the safety of the local anesthetic (rapid awakening, stable vital signs). In fact, studies have shown that for patients with medical conditions that are aggravated by stress (asthma, hypertension or angina) intravenous sedation may be safer than local anesthesia alone.