My Family Dental Comfort
Sedation and Sleep Dentistry
For people who have been putting it off for years, and for people whose teeth are simply hard to numb.
Oral sedation, intravenous sedation in house, and general anaesthetic with a visiting anaesthetist. Which one suits you depends on the treatment, your medical history and how you actually feel about dentistry, and that is a conversation rather than a package.
IV sedation
In house, not outsourced
Visiting anaesthetist
For general anaesthetic cases
Oral sedation
Where a tablet is enough
Happy gas at Bowen
Nitrous oxide, for those who want it
A lot of people have not seen a dentist in ten years, and almost none of them are proud of it. It usually starts with one bad appointment and then compounds, because the longer you leave it the more there is to face. Sedation is how that cycle gets broken, and it is a great deal more ordinary than it sounds.
“Sleep Dentistry” Covers Four Different Things
The phrase gets used loosely, so here is what we actually have and what each one means for you.
- Local anaesthetic. The ordinary one, and for most treatment it is enough. Topical numbing gel goes on first at every clinic, so the injection itself is less of an event than people remember.
- Oral sedation. A calmative prescribed before the appointment where that is appropriate. You are awake, but the edge is off. Somebody else drives.
- Intravenous sedation. Given through a drip and titrated during the appointment. You are drowsy, deeply relaxed, and most people remember very little of it afterwards. This is done in house.
- General anaesthetic. Properly asleep, with an anaesthetist present. A visiting anaesthetist attends our clinics, so this can be arranged rather than referred away.
Happy gas is available at our Bowen clinic.
The Honest Part
Sedation and general anaesthesia carry real risks, and how much depends on your health, your medications and what is being done. That is why the medical history comes first and why an anaesthetist is involved for a general anaesthetic. We will tell you the risks that apply to you specifically.
We will also tell you if you do not need it. Plenty of people who arrive asking for sedation find that a slower appointment, a proper explanation and being told they can stop at any point turns out to be enough. Sedation should be a considered choice, not the default upsell for anyone who looks nervous.
Getting Years of Work Done at Once
For someone who has been avoiding the dentist for a long time, the treatment plan is usually the frightening part rather than any single appointment. Several visits worth of work can often be combined into one session under sedation or general anaesthetic, which turns a year of dreaded appointments into one day and a recovery.
That approach suits some cases and not others, and it costs what it costs. You get the plan and the written quote before you commit to any of it.
It Is Not Only About Fear
- Teeth that will not numb properly. More common than people think, and genuinely miserable.
- A strong gag reflex, which can make impressions and back teeth close to impossible.
- Long appointments, such as implant surgery or several extractions, where staying still is the hard part.
- Special needs and medical conditions that make ordinary treatment difficult.
- Children who cannot yet manage the treatment they actually need.
Where
Sedation options are available across the group, at all six clinics.
- My Family Dental Townsville (Kirwan)
- My Family Dental Bohle Plains
- My Family Dental Ingham
- My Family Dental Innisfail
- My Family Dental Bowen
- My Family Dental Emerald
Important: Sedation and general anaesthesia carry risks, which vary with your health, your medications and the procedure. Suitability is assessed individually and requires a medical history and consultation. Fees are confirmed in a written quote. Seek advice appropriate to your circumstances from a qualified health practitioner.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a marketing phrase rather than a clinical one, and it covers a range of quite different things: from a tablet that takes the edge off, through intravenous sedation where you are drowsy and remember little, to a general anaesthetic where you are properly asleep. They carry different risks and suit different people. Anyone offering you "sleep dentistry" without telling you which of those they mean is not giving you enough to decide on.
Oral sedation, intravenous sedation in house, and general anaesthetic, with a visiting anaesthetist attending our clinics. Happy gas is available at Bowen. Every clinic also uses topical numbing gel before injections, and a calmative can be prescribed before the appointment where that is appropriate. Which of those suits you depends on the treatment, your medical history and how you actually feel about it.
Sedation and general anaesthesia carry real risks, and how much risk depends on your health, your medications and the procedure. That is exactly why an anaesthetist is involved for general anaesthetic and why we take a proper medical history first. We will tell you the risks that apply to you rather than reassuring you in general terms, and if the honest answer is that you do not need sedation, we will say that too.
Often, and for people who have avoided the dentist for years that is the whole point. Several appointments worth of work can sometimes be combined into one, which turns an intimidating year-long plan into a single day. Whether that suits your case is settled at the consultation, along with what it costs.
Yes, and it is more common than people admit. Difficulty getting properly numb, a strong gag reflex, or simply not being able to keep your mouth open long enough for a long appointment are all practical reasons for sedation and have nothing to do with nerves.
It depends on which option and how long the appointment runs, and a general anaesthetic involves the anaesthetist as well. You get a written quote after the consultation, before anything is booked.
From the Blog
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