The Sedation Journey

Preoperative Stage

The treating dentist sees the patient for an initial consultation/exam and creates a treatment plan as per normal. In addition to obtaining proper informed and financial consent, please determine the number and length of each appointment required.

Please then direct the patient to fill out a preoperative sedation questionnaire which can be accessed here.

Once the patient fills this out, the sedationist will then contact the patient to perform a medical assessment for the patient. This can be done over the phone in most cases, however, in rare circumstances, some patients may require a face to face exam prior to the day of the sedation. If the patient is suitable for sedation we then provide patients a formal quote for the sedation with item codes.

Once we confirm the final details of the patient, we will then contact the clinic to organise an appointment time for the patient. We also provide the patient with preoperative instructions - Click here for a digital copy

Things that we go over during the initial consult

  1. We discuss the purpose, goals, risks and costs of the dental procedure and the sedation.

  2. The patient’s medical details - e.g. medical conditions, allergies, previous surgeries, anaesthetics and sedations, any medical diagnoses, tests and treatments the patient might be undertaking.

  3. An Anaesthetic Exam - e.g. measure vital signs, height/weight, look inside your mouth, check the movement of your joints and muscles of your head and neck.

On the Day of the Sedation

  • Before we commence treatment, we need to check that the patient is prepared for their sedation appointment appropriately.

  • Once we have confirmed the details of the dental procedure, we will begin administering sedation drugs to help the patient relax during your procedure.

  • Many people will sleep during their sedation, however some people will be awake during the procedure. Even if the patient is awake, most people will not remember the procedure.

    1. Cannula - Once we do our final checks to ensure we are ready for the sedation, the sedationist places a small cannula in the patient’s arm. For comfort we can give the patient numbing patches to reduce any discomfort.

    2. Monitoring - To keep the patient safe and comfortable during your sedation procedure, we will attach electronic heart and lung monitors (SpO2, ECG, EtCO2, NIBP) to monitor the patient’s progress during the sedation.

    3. Medications such as Midazalam, Fentanyl and Propofil will be administered to help the patient relax during the procedure. We will top up the medications as needed for comfort; increasing it during bigger parts of the procedure. We may administer other medications such as antibiotics, painkillers and anti-nausea medications to help the patient with his/her recovery.

Sedation Recovery

We will contact the patient’s carer directly once we’ve finished the procedure so that they can be taken home and looked after. We will continue to monitor the patient’s recovery and also help you address issues like pain, nausea and vomiting and bleeding. Recovery takes around 30 - 60mins and can be done in the dental operating room or a private recovery room if available on premises. The sedationist will remain with the patient during recovery but the dentist may use an adjacent surgery to see patients while recovery occurs.