subject: Sedation Dentistry [print this page] A sedation dentist is much like an anesthesiologist. The work of a sedation dentist is to put patients to sleep so that the won't feel pain during surgery. A sedation dentist uses medicines and anesthetics for sedation purposes. You would usually find a sedation dentist in a cosmetic dentistry. Since a cosmetic dentistry is usually performing cosmetic surgeries, a sedation dentist has a lot of work to do to prepare dental patients for the maxillofacial surgeons and other dental surgeons.
The work of a sedation dentist hasn't really been around until the discovery of anesthetics which was during the eighteen hundreds. Sedation dentistry is the reason why cosmetic dentistry can exist. One example of dental work that can't be done without a sedation dentist is dental implants. Instead of living with missing teeth or dealing with the worries of dentures, dental patients can have dental implants installed which are like having your natural teeth back. But, this cosmetic dental work cannot happen without a sedation dentist because just like natural teeth, the dental implants have to be anchored to something and that something is the dental jaw-bone. So, the work of a sedation dentist is extremely important for the cosmetic dentistry to be able to do their jobs while the dental patient doesn't feel pain. Drilling into bone can cause a lot of pain and so dental patients undergoing dental implants surgery will be put to sleep by a sedation dentist.
Another example of the work of a sedation dentist that isn't connected with a cosmetic dentistry is for wisdom teeth removal. Today, most dentist offices like to have their dental patients get wisdom teeth removed when they have just come in as dental buds or teeth buds, before the wisdom teeth can cause any dental problems. Because of the timing of this wisdom teeth removal, the wisdom teeth are still below the surface of oral tissues and if the dentist removing the teeth is not careful the dentist can leave bone exposed causing dry-socket and other dental issues. A sedation dentist must have the dental patients put to sleep during wisdom teeth removal because wisdom teeth removal can create a lot of pain and anxiety if the dental patients only had local anesthesia. If the dental patient is put to sleep with sedation then the dentist has more time to accurately and effectively remove the wisdom teeth.
Another example of dental work of a sedation dentist is in cosmetic surgeries such as fixing a hair-lip or a cleft palate or other types of dental birth defects. In this case a sedation dentist must be mindful of the methods of sedation medication doses as the dental patients for these types of dental surgeries are children.
There are many other instances when a sedation dentist is needed to prepare a dental patients for dental surgery. These are only a few examples of areas where a sedation dentist would be used.
The dental school and studies to become a sedation dentist can be compared to a pharmacist and/or an anesthesiologist as mentioned in the beginning of the article because a sedation dentist must know the correct dosage amounts and the correct kinds of medicines to use to help patients deal with pain. A sedation dentist must be aware of patients allergies and other health conditions to use the proper pain control medicines. Also, as shown in the examples above the main purpose of a sedation dentist is to prepare dental patients for their dental surgeries by using sedation methods in putting dental patients to sleep for pain management.
