At NYC Smile Design, we offer advanced sleep sedation dentistry in our Manhattan offices to help patients feel calm and comfortable so they can get the dental treatment they need.

Most people can manage dental treatment with little more than some slight anxiety.  But studies show that approximately 30-40 million Americans suffer from dental anxiety and avoid dental appointments because of it. As with any health issue, regular dental checkups and treatment are essential to overall health. If you are afraid to go to the dentist, you will find that sleep sedation dentistry can change your life and improve your health!

Sleep sedation dentistry can help patients in NYC get treatment in a calm and fear-free atmosphere, no matter what their anxieties.  Sleep sedation dentistry can help patients who:

• Need involved and complicated dental treatment.  For anxious patients this might normally take several visits, but could actually be completed in as little as one visit using sleep sedation dentistry.
• Have a stressful lifestyle, high anxiety, and a busy schedule; you could complete treatment without adding to your stress, and in less time.
• Have a bad gag reflex
• Have an aversion to dental sounds, smells or tastes
• Have a history of bad dental experiences
• Fear needles or drills
• Feel afraid of losing control
• Have extremely sensitive teeth
• Suffer from acute or chronic jaw soreness
• Have difficulty keeping the mouth open

Sleep sedation dentistry is a very safe way to have your dental treatment done in our NYC offices while you are completely calm and comfortable.  Sleep sedation dentistry induces a relaxed, dreamlike state so that time seems to pass rapidly and you feel as if you were actually asleep during the procedure. Patients are still able to understand and respond to the dentist during the sleep sedation dentistry procedure.  You will be in a state of extreme relaxation.  The medicine that is used often gently induces partial or total amnesia, so even if you're awake, it's likely that you will forget the procedure when it's over.  At NYC Smile Design, we offer three levels of sedation.

This is lightest type of sedation. There are several ways to sedate a patient that result in anxiolysis. In our NYC office we use inhalation of nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas. Nitrous oxide is a wonderful way to reduce a patient’s anxiety because it is administered under the supervision of the dentist and can be quickly reversed when it is time for you to leave. Nitrous oxide induces a relaxed feeling and sends you into a dreamlike state. Once you are relaxed and comfortable, a local anesthetic (such as Novocain) is administered to ensure a pain-free experience.

In some cases, we use a moderate level of sedation called conscious sedation.  Conscious sedation can be induced with oral medication or through inhalation.  With oral sedation, a sublingual (under your tongue) powder is used to provide the most rapid onset. It is given one hour prior to your appointment. Another way to provide conscious sedation is with the use of inhalation nitrous oxide.  It is administered to produce a relaxed state where the patient is still awake and able to respond. Sometimes we use both oral sedation and nitrous oxide to achieve the most extreme relaxed state. While you are becoming more relaxed, you will be laying in a comfortable chair with a blanket in a dimly-lit, quiet room.  During sleep sedation dentistry in our NYC offices, your level of comfort, sedation, and vitals will be continually monitored with medical equipment so that your visit is completely safe.  Once you are relaxed and comfortable, a local anesthetic is administered to provide you with a pain-free experience. Depending on your needs, your oral sedation can last from two to six hours. To ensure your well-being, it's best to arrange for a companion to take you home.  For your convenience, we offer a prearranged car service to get you home quickly and safely.

Deep sedation is the state between conscious and unconscious. During deep sedation, the patient is unable to respond to commands. This is best done with IV sedation where the sedative is directly administered into your circulatory system.  Sleep sedation dentistry with IV sedation enables even the most anxious people to undergo dental treatment. During your treatment you will not experience any pain or discomfort, and when you awake after the procedure you will have no memory of the treatment. As with the other types of sedation, a local anesthetic will be used for pain relief. To ensure your well-being, you should arrange for a companion to take you home.  At NYC Smile Design, we offer a prearranged car service to get you home quickly and safely.

NYC Smile Design: Types of Sedation Sedation dentistry in New York is offered at NYC Smile Design to minimize patients' apprehension and anxiety. Sedation dentists, Elisa Mello DDS and Ramin Tabib DDS practice sleep sedation dentistry.