What Happens After the Sedation Dentistry Treatment?

You should remember that before the sedation, you will have to sign a consent form, but you will also receive a document containing the post operative guidelines which you should read carefully.

If you have to undergo sedation dentistry, it is either because you struggle with severe dental phobia, or because the dentist sees it fit for you to be sedated while performing the treatment.

You should remember that before dental sedation, you will have to sign a consent form, but you will also receive a document containing the post operative guidelines which you should read carefully.

You might not even be completely asleep during dental sedation. However, you will not remember anything from dental procedure, and unfortunately the sleepiness and dizziness might be side effects that can last even up to 24 hours.

This is especially true if you undergo oral sedation or IV sedation, and almost always you need to have someone pick you up from the practice. You will not be able to drive in that situation, so it is important to entrust a friend or someone from the family with the task of picking you up from the dental practice.

What you cannot do for 24 hours after the sedation dentistry treatment:

- you cannot operate any kind of heavy machinery
- you should not drink any type of alcohol
- you should not drive
- stay away from taking any big decisions that you might regret later (such as putting your signature on important documents, contracts, etc.).

Remember that even if you are practically awake (or half awake) during the dental treatment, dental sedation is so strong you will not remember anything from the procedure.

Sometimes, dizziness or even nausea might be present for the next few hours after the sedation dentistry surgery. Make sure to also avoid any kind of physical exercise within the first 24 hours after the surgery. The best thing you can do is take one day off from work if possible, and stay at home relaxing and recovering.

You should only trust very experienced dentists to perform sedation dentistry. Not only this, but experts performing dental sedation do actually have special medical training for this.

Otherwise, they normally employ an anesthesiologist to perform the oral or intravenous dental sedation. If the dentist prescribes postoperative medication, make sure to follow the orders.

You might not feel pain up to several hours from the surgery, but as the effect of sedation goes away, you might become more and more aware of the pain and discomfort.

You should immediately report to your dentist any unusual problem such as swelling, rashes, marked vomiting or if you experience frequent fainting episodes.