Oral Sedation Dentistry

Oral sedation dentistry is a medical procedure that gives a sedative drug by mouth, generally to facilitate a dental procedure, most commonly using the benzodiazepine triazolam. A patient typically takes a dose about an hour before the appointment, with an optional additional dose the night before to manage anxiety related sleep trouble, at doses kept below the level that would impair breathing. It addresses patients with generalized anxiety, needle phobia, past dental trauma or fear of the dentist, produces an amnesic effect that helps patients forget the sights and smells of the office, and lets a dentist complete more extensive treatment in fewer visits; it is one of three conscious sedation methods used in dentistry, alongside inhalation sedation and intravenous sedation.