A More Relaxed Dental Procedure

At Palermo Village Dental, our team of dentists in Oakville understand that many people experience fear and anxiety about visiting the dentist. Unfortunately, these feelings may hold them back from getting the dental treatment they need.

We provide conscious sedation with nitrous oxide (laughing gas) for those patients. This additional support typically makes for a more calm and relaxed experience.Whenever possible, we use our Solea dental laser for procedures, including filling cavities. This tool allows us to perform many procedures without anesthesia (which means no needle) and has no drill noise. And, most patients report no discomfort from the laser.

What Is Sedation Dentistry?

Dental anxiety is extremely common, with about 36% of adults reporting some level of fear around going to the dentist. Sedation dentistry can help alleviate some of those anxious feelings through medications to help the patient relax.

Sedation dentistry may be helpful for patients who:

Have very sensitive teeth or a low pain threshold
Have a highly sensitive gag reflex
Need a lot of dental work completed
Have trouble sitting still during a procedure, including children

Nitrous Oxide Sedation Dentistry

We offer nitrous oxide to our patients interested in sedation dentistry. Nitrous oxide is a mild sedative used for managing pain and anxiety during your appointment.

The nitrous oxide is mixed with pure oxygen and delivered via a mask throughout the procedure.

What to Expect

You don’t need to prepare for your procedure, but a light meal beforehand can help with occasional feelings of nausea afterwards.

You might giggle once or twice while we’re using nitrous oxide in your procedure, but the main effects of laughing gas include:

Feeling calm and less inhibited
Feeling light-headed or tingly
Heavy feeling in your arms or legs

You’ll be conscious throughout the procedure, so you can talk to the dentist as needed. When we’re done our work, we’ll give you pure oxygen for about 5 minutes to help flush the nitrous oxide from your system.

It’s safe to drive yourself home after nitrous oxide.