Do you feel restless? Are your palms sweating? Do you have a nervous stomach? These are clear signs of anxiety, and if you’ve undergone any kind of surgery, you are probably no stranger to these uneasy feelings. Many patients visit their oral surgeon having never undergone a surgical procedure before and worry about their comfort level. But thankfully, oral surgeons have the expertise and training to offer in-office sedation safely.
Thanks to extensive training and hands-on experience in a teaching hospital, your oral surgeon is extremely aware of the risks and the correct procedure for administering all types of sedation. Oral & maxillofacial surgeons can use several techniques to reduce anxiety during procedures, including a calming office environment. But oral surgery practices also utilize the common local anesthetic (numbing with lidocaine), Nitrous Oxide Sedation (laughing gas), and Intravenous Sedation (IV Sedation) to calm even the most worried patient’s nerves.
When undergoing surgery with the aid of anesthesia, it is important to understand the risks. This primarily means ensuring that you are receiving anesthesia from a qualified professional. Side effects of anesthesia can range from a backache to light-headedness or low blood pressure, but there are also more serious cases of amnesia or the inability to breathe. If the anesthetic is administered incorrectly, or there is insufficient monitoring during treatment, there is potential for it to result in problems.
Oral surgeons are the highest-trained dental professionals to administer anesthetics. Oral surgeons spend a minimum of 4 years training in a hospital, including significant time spent with anesthesiologists learning to safely administer anesthesia, which makes the risk factors much less prominent when anesthesia is administered by an experienced, professional oral surgeon. Their thorough training is just one of the several reasons you should see an oral surgeon for your dental implant needs and wisdom teeth removal! You can feel confident that you will receive the safest care from an oral surgeon.
There is risk associated with any medical procedure, but the facts don’t lie; out of millions of patients that are treated with anesthesia, the fatality rate is only .01%. To ensure you receive the best anesthetic option for you, your oral surgeon will take into consideration your medical history, the treatment being provided, and your personal preferences. Your oral surgeon is there to help you and talk you through the process so that you feel comfortable throughout your treatment.
Here at Gainesville Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, it is of the utmost importance to us that you know you can trust your oral surgeon. If you have more questions about anesthesia or would like to talk to one of our experienced oral surgeons for an upcoming oral surgery, please call our office or utilize our website and schedule a consultation.