Sleep Dentistry

General Information

Our clinicians and team members have undergone training to provide you with techniques to aid in helping you to relax and provide you with a pleasantdental visit.In certain circumstances, we advise our patients to consider Sleep Dentistry. Some of these circumstances include: (a) Severe dental phobia brought on by prior severely traumatic experiences (b) Highly complex treatment (c) Highly complex treatment on young children (d) Excessive gag reflex (e) Certain medical conditions which make conscious dentistry challenging andunpredictableSleep Dentistry will involve either a) Intravenous Sedation or b) General Anaesthesia. Read more about our Sleep Dentistry options here.

You should consider sedation if you:

• Have very severe dental fear and anxiety
• Are having several complex dental procedures done
• Have certain medical conditions or are taking certain medications
• Have an excessive gag reflex
• Have a child who is undergoing complex dental treatments

Procedure

Any sedation procedure begins with a thorough consultation. We first discuss the dental treatment needed for you and ascertain if you are able to have that treatment without the need to be sedated. Once we decide that some level of sedation is necessary, we will then discuss the types of sedation available. These are:

• Oral sedation
• Intravenous (IV) sedation
• General anaesthesia

Oral Sedation

In this case a mild anxiolytic medication is provided to you approximately 1 hour prior to your intended appointment. This ensures you are relaxed throughout the procedure. You are still conscious and able to respond to us, you are just more relaxed.

After the procedure you may recover in one our recovery rooms before going home. You should not drive home.

Intravenous Sedation

Intravenous (IV) sedation is done within any of our 3 facilities situated at Upper Thomson, Upper Serangoon and Bedok. Our very experienced anesthetist and auxiliary staff will be present with all the equipment and materials necessary to ensure a smooth and efficient procedure.

You will be required to fast for 6 hours prior to the dental procedure. Once the sedation medication is administered, you will be sedated completely. This allows us to complete any dental procedure that is required and desired by you. Throughout all this, our Anesthetist remains present to monitor you and adjust doses accordingly.

This is the quintessential pain free method of performing Dentistry. You are completely sedated and will not feel any pain.

After the procedure you may recover in one our recovery rooms before going home. You should not drive home.

General anesthesia

General Anesthesia (GA) is done at Novena Medical Centre. Here, you will be tended to by:

• Our specialist Anesthetist
• The staff nurses at Novena Medical Centre
• Our experienced Dentist
• Ashford’s experienced nursing staff

You will be required to fast for 6 hours prior to the procedure.  Our staff along with the Novena Medical Centre staff will be waiting for you upon your arrival. Once briefed and prepared, you are sedated in the operating theatre using GA.

Our specialist Anesthetist is always present along with our experienced dentist. They will both be constantly assisted by Operating Theatre nurses and Ashford nurses.

Once the procedure is complete and you are awake, you will be moved to a recovery area where you can relax and recover with no rush or hassle. Our doctor will check that you are recovered and pain free before discharging you.

As it is a day surgery procedure, patients are usually only kept at Novena Medical Centre for an hour to ensure they are healthy and well recovered before being discharged and allowed to go home.

A review appointment is always scheduled at Ashford so our doctor can check that you are well and have recovered from your procedure. Our staff nurses always call you the next day to ensure you are recovering and you will always have our 24hr clinic mobile number to call or message in case you have any queries during your recovery.