Are you traumatized at the thought of going to your dentist? Are you scared of the needles that poke you? Or simply feel that your pressure increases at the thought of visiting a dentist?

You don’t need to worry anymore! The dentists at Rice dentistry at Irvine do a wonderful job of treating you. The sedation dentist here at Irvine completely puts your fears to rest while you go through a peaceful dental treatment with this procedure.

A small pill is administered to you before you go in for a treatment. Any treatment from fixing broken or cracked teeth, to usual gum cleaning, to painful root canal treatments, almost anything can be done effectively with the help of sedation. The sedation takes effect for 5-6 hours and is the most relaxed way of dealing with a patient, rather than having to deal with flailing arms and tears. Sedation dentists work wonders with the patients as well, as this sedates the patient while the dentists can perform their tasks.

Sedation dentists complete the task in less time than usual. One does not need to be anesthetized with a needle anymore. A small pill does the trick. Patient’s vital signs are continuously monitored before,  and during the administering of the pill. You don’t need to worry about the pills effect on your health. It is a legal and a non narcotic drug that is used which causes no side effects.  Once the patient regains consciousness, or comes out of sedation, he or she is completely normal and does not feel the pain of the procedure.

Before you know it, the dentists have worked on you and you are set to go back home. Contact our Sedation Dentist in Irvine today.

Once you’ve experienced sedation dentistry with Dr. Rice, you’ll probably never be afraid to go to the dentist again. You’ll be sedated just enough to be unaware of the treatment. You’ll wake up refreshed, with little or no memory of the procedures.

Because you are completely relaxed and comfortable, we can do years of dental treatment in one or two visits. We can replace crowns, restore sore gums to good health, whiten yellow or stained teeth, fix a chipped tooth, and more. People with very busy schedules can get the dental care they need, easily and quickly. Imagine being able to have the smile that you always wanted and chew your food without pain. No wonder so many patients say: “Sedation dentistry changed my life.”

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Dr. Rice is a member of the Dental Organization of Conscious Sedation and is fully trained in this safe form of sedation.
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Hi, I’m Dr. Scott Rice, a dentist here in Orange County, and I offer dentistry with sedation as an alternative to my patients who want their dentistry done in the most comfortable way possible.

The first thing I’d like to say to you is that I compliment you on visiting our on-line office. If you’re like many people who dislike, or I should say probably hate having dentistry, the effort you made probably took a lot of courage. You know…we recognize in our practice how tough dentistry can be, especially when you’re on the receiving end of the needle or the drill. We don’t take anything our patients experience for granted. I really want you to know that you’re not alone. At least 50% of the population here in the U.S. don’t go to the dentist except for dental emergencies…a broken tooth or a tooth ache. And, there are countless people who do have those dental emergencies and still don’t go to the dentist. So, right off the bat I acknowledge that you realize your need for dental care, but most likely don’t like the idea of possible pain, shots or even the drilling noise. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could eliminate most or all of those perceptions? Well, the good news is that now we can with sedation dentistry.

When you do come to see us I’m going to make you promise….no lectures. In the past you’ve probably gone to an office or two and when they found out how long it had been since your last dental appointment you got a lecture. You were belittled because they made you feel bad or guilty for going so long without dental care. Well, you won’t get that in our practice. As a matter of fact most people who come to us for sedation dentistry haven’t had dentistry done for at least 5 years, and many even 10-15 years or even longer. So, we recognize that you probably haven’t been to the dentist for quite some time and that it took you a lot of courage to come in to see us….so rest assured, we won’t be giving you any lectures.

First, who is a candidate for sedation dentistry?

-Adults who have high fear
-Those who have had traumatic dental experiences and are afraid of having bad dental experiences again
-People who have difficulty getting numb
-People with very sensitive teeth
-People who are very busy, and need a lot of dentistry, but because of their busy lifestyle want their dentistry to be completed comfortably in one or two appointments
-Sedation dentistry is also good for adults who
-Hate needles and shots
-Hate the noises, smells and tastes associated with dental care
-And people who are afraid & embarrassed about their teeth and want their teeth to look nice…want a nice smile that looks professional and enhances their image.

Now…let me summarize some other facts about sedation dentistry

It works!
It is safe!
You take a small pill prior to your dental treatment. No I.V. needles in your arm.
You will have little or no memory of the experience and you will not remember any sounds or smells.
You snooze for 2-6 hours after taking the pill.
Work requiring 6 to 8 regular dental appointments can usually be done in 1 or 2 visits with sedation dentistry.
People who have difficulty getting numb have no problem when relaxed and sedated.
We do all this with just a pill, which is a safe, non-narcotic medication
This medication we use is prescribed millions of times a year to people as a very, very safe sleeping aid and is being utilized safely in dental offices across the country.

Well, that was the short version of explaining sedation. Now I’ll try to explain it a little more detail.

First, with sedation dentistry you are very…very relaxed. And you will probably dose off and not even know that you’ve been sleeping.
You will be in a very light sleeping state, but not so deep that you can’t be woken up and respond to us or to our questions. You are able to talk and answer us.
You won’t have any pain and none of the dentistry we do will hurt you.
You will lose track of time. As a matter of fact most people wake up from a 3 or 4 hour dental procedure and say something like “wow…that was quick.”
But not lastly, you won’t remember much or anything later on about your appointment!

So how does all this work?

First, before your appointment you will be given a pill. Yes, just a simple blue pill. You will take that pill at home one hour before your scheduled appointment.

Someone will need to drive you to our office that day, and when you arrive you will be relaxed and tired. At that time we will ask you how you’re feeling and if you want to be more sleepy. If it’s your first sedation visit you will most likely want to be a little more sedated, and so if you want we will give you a second dose of the medication at that time. It will be your choice how sleepy to get. If you just want to be relaxed, but not extremely sleepy, we can give you less medication. Again, that will be your choice.

Then you will go to the rest room, and then we will bring you back to our dental treatment room. You will take off your shoes and we will cover you with one or two warm blankets. If you wear glasses, a watch or jewelry those will then be given to your driver to keep for you.

We will then begin to monitor your vital signs….pulse, blood pressure and breathing efficiency with our pulse oximeter…a sophisticated medical instrument that measures those things so that we make sure that you don’t go into a deep sleep. In our office we only want you in a safe, light sedation or light sleeping state.

Then we will numb you before we numb you with a topical anesthetic on a q-tip…. and then when we do numb you, you won’t even know you’re getting numb.

After that, you’ll dose off a bit and we’ll do the dentistry that you have scheduled. Some people can have all their dentistry done in only one appointment. But if you’re having crowns or bridges you will need two visits. You can see that for busy people, getting all their dentistry done in two long appointments with sedation dentistry really beats 6-10 visits over months or even possibly years to have all their dentistry completed. For busy people sedation dentistry is really a Godsend.

When you’re ready to wake up, we’ll call your name, you’ll wake up and we’ll give you some juice, we will sit you up and you’ll wake up even more. Most people wake up pretty easily because remember, we use a light sedation medication, not a deep sedation or general anesthetic.

Most people want to know, “what if I go into a deep sleep and I don’t wake up when you talk to me?” Waking you up won’t be a problem, but if we really had to we have another medication that we can give you that will wake you up almost immediately. I have never had to use that medication, but we have it available to use if absolutely necessary.

What is the medication that is used?

It is a little blue pill. A sedative hypnotic pill called Triazolam that is in the same family as Valium. It is short acting, and half of it is used up by your body within 2 hours. It is the same medication that is prescribed hundreds of thousands of times a year by physicians as a very safe prescription sleeping aid. The drug enforcement administration has categorized it as a schedule IV substance, which means it is only one category higher than common aspirin. And, used for dental sedation there has never been a single case of a severe emergency using it in the dental office and there has never ever been a death using this medication in a dental office either. I emphasize, this medication is very, very safe. Again, this medication does not produce a deep sedation or general anesthesia.

What are the contraindications to sedation dentistry with oral sedative hypnotic pills?

You have to be in reasonably good health, over 18 years of age, not pregnant, not nursing, not having a medical condition called ‘acute narrow angle glycoma’, not having an allergy or sensitivity to benzodiazipine medications, not having any significant respiratory problems like asthma or emphysema, not having a medical condition called psychosis and/or taking a medication called a MAO inhibitor, and lastly….we will not do sedation dentistry in our practice if you are an alcoholic. We estimate that over 90-95% of the population over the age of 18 are good candidates for sedation dentistry.

Why do we only use a pill and not a general anesthesia…. not deep sedation…not using intravenous medications or gas?

Well, 99% of time deep sedation or general anesthesia is just not necessary for general dentistry. Certainly, deep sedation and general anesthesia carries increased risks and is more dangerous. Before I began using oral sedation, I practiced sedation dentistry with the help of an anesthesiologist. I still work with the anesthesiologist on the rare occasions when it is the only appropriate option. Another important thing is that many people who come to us are actually are afraid of needles, and don’t want an I.V. in their arm. The pill we use is placed under the tongue, allowed to dissolve and that’s it!

How much easier can that be?

Another question we frequently hear is “are there any special restrictions prior to sedation dentistry?” Yes, there are. You won’t be allowed to eat or drink anything after 7pm the night before your appointment. No sedatives or alcohol 24 hours prior to or after your appointment. No stimulants, smoking or caffeine 12 hours before or after your appointment. And of course, you’ll need a responsible person to drive you to your appointment, and return to bring you back home again after your appointment is over.

Does the medication have any side effects that you might notice?

Yes, there are two.

First, some people get the hiccups…which usually only last a few minutes. And second, your mouth will become dry. But, if you do have one of these side effects you won’t even remember having it.

Some people have difficulty getting numb at the dentist, and want to know how sedation dentistry will benefit them. Well, sedation dentistry helps a lot. Patients who are hard to get numb are much more responsive to getting numb when they are sedated.

How about gagging?

This is another great benefit with sedation dentistry….patients who gag easily have a much easier time with sedation dentistry, and find that their gag reaction is greatly reduced or non existent with sedation.

So, sedation dentistry has many benefits….it’s great for those afraid of dentistry (dental phobics). It’s great for people who want to have dentistry without pain. It’s great for those who have a difficult time getting numb. And it’s great for those who gag easily. And, I emphasize this, sedation dentistry is great for those who need to have a lot of dentistry done, as it allows many appointments that might be needed to be condensed into just a few!

How much does sedation dentistry cost?

We charge a flat fee of $275 per appointment for sedation with pills (plus the cost of the actual dental treatment). As a frame of reference, dental anesthesiologists who administer deep sedation, I.V. sedation and general anesthesia charge $400 an hour here in Orange County. For you, it should be very obvious that light oral sedation is a real bargain compared to deep sedation or general anesthesia with an anesthesiologist, which could cost you 5 to 10 times more. So, it’s not only safer, but also is certainly less costly, and surely fits easier into most peoples’ budgets.

When you arrive at our practice the first thing you’ll notice is that we are different than most dental offices. We’re not a big insurance clinic, treating numerous patients at a time. As a matter of fact, I only treat one patient at a time.

In our dental practice we believe in making every effort so that your dentistry is done in the most comfortable manner possible. For many patients this means offering sedation dentistry. You wouldn’t think about getting your tonsils out or your wisdom teeth out without sedation…or an operation on your nose or ear…or laser eye surgery….or for that matter, almost any other surgery.

Why should you have to go without sedation for general dentistry? Why shouldn’t you have your dentistry done in the most comfortable, and yet safe way possible? If you have concerns about your comfort with dentistry and your dentist isn’t trained in using sedation or doesn’t offer you sedation, why should you have to suffer? In our practice we will make every effort to make your dentistry a very pleasant and comfortable experience.

I hope that you feel confidant that you have finally found a very special dental office where you can be safely treated without pain! I look forward to meeting you very soon.