Four options, depending on how much you need. Intravenous sedation is given here by the dentist doing the work, not by a visiting anaesthetist.
Fear of the dentist is common and it is expensive, because it turns a one-hour appointment into five years of not going, and it is the five years that do the damage. If that is you, say so when you call. It is the most useful thing you can tell us.
Used strictly to control pain. It is injected at the site of the procedure and numbs it. Local anaesthesia does not do anything about anxiety, but it does a great deal about pain, and many patients feel better simply knowing it is there.
Medication that helps you feel relaxed during the procedure. It suits patients who are uncomfortable at the dentist, who have a strong gag reflex, who dislike the feeling of numbness, or who have had a bad experience before.
IV sedation provides moderate to deep sedation and works faster than oral sedation. The level is managed through the procedure according to what is being done and to you. It suits anxious patients, longer and more involved procedures, and patients with complex medical needs, for whom it reduces the stress on the body and makes the outcome safer and more predictable. We are also able to treat special needs patients as they move from pediatric to adult care. Once the procedure is finished, most patients resume normal activities the following day.
Dr. Kirchmann completed a two-year postgraduate general practice residency at UNC Chapel Hill that included specialised training in the use of intravenous sedation, and he is a Fellow of the American Association of Hospital Dentists.
Nitrous oxide, inhaled through a small mask. It takes the edge off quickly, wears off almost as quickly, and you can usually drive yourself home.
Bring somebody with you if you are having oral or IV sedation. We will tell you in advance which appointments need that and which do not.
Call the practice, or send a note and we will call you back the same working day. Saturday appointments, free parking, and the Metro‑North platform two minutes away.