Laughing Gas: What You Need to Know About this Safe and Effective Sedation Option

Believe it or not, not everyone you know can get to their dental appointment and stay composed enough to undergo a dental procedure. The fact of the matter is that millions of people suffer from dental anxiety and phobia. This means that when they visit a dentist near you, they probably have difficulty agreeing to or even undergoing necessary dental procedures.

Dental anxiety or phobia should not be overlooked because these conditions can jeopardize your ability to receive quality dental care, leaving you vulnerable to dental issues and problems that are otherwise avoidable.

This is where sedation dentistry comes in handy. Sedation options are available for patients undergoing extensive dental procedures or patients suffering from dental anxiety. These sedatives are administered to ensure that patients stay calm and relaxed during dental procedures. Also, they are administered during invasive or extensive dental processes to ensure that patients experience a pain-free and comfortable treatment process.

One prime example of a sedation option widely used during dental procedures is laughing gas. This sedation option has transformed dental experiences, particularly for adult patients suffering from dental anxiety or even pediatric patients with difficulties undergoing dental procedures.

What Is Laughing Gas?

Laughing gas is also known as nitrous oxide. This is an effective and safe dental sedation option that has been in use for the longest time. This gas is used to give the patients being worked on a mild to moderate level of sedation.

Laughing gas is a colorless, odorless gas administered via a gas mask during dental processes. This makes it a form of inhalation sedation. Nitrous oxide works promptly, inducing a relaxed and calm feeling. This gas also has effects that wear off quite fast once the gas supply has been cut off and pure oxygen administered instead.

Under this type of sedation, you will be conscious and aware of your surroundings. This means you will be responsive to questions and prompts during the procedure.

Laughing Gas in Columbia, SC, is a widely used form of sedation in dental processes because it’s been ADA-approved to be safe and effective.

Benefits of Laughing Gas

The use of Laughing Gas near you has been seen to have several benefits. Among these is that laughing gas can be used to deal with dental anxiety and pain and discomfort that might be experienced during invasive dental procedures.

Here are some of the benefits of nitrous oxide in dental sedation:

• • Administration Is Easy

Laughing gas is administered via a gas mask. Patients have to breathe as they usually do once the mask is placed. This makes its administration easy, especially when dentists are dealing with patients with dental phobia.

• • Rapid-Acting

Our dentist in Columbia, SC, recommends using laughing gas for our patients because of its fast-acting properties. Laughing gas gets into the bloodstream almost immediately after administration begins. This ensures that its pain-numbing and sedative effects will be noticed promptly.

• • Effects Wear Off in Little Time

The effects of nitrous oxide gas wear off quickly once the gas has been turned off. This means you can drive home after your dental appointment with our Drs. Ellis, Green, and Jenkins

• • Safe

It is ADA-approved and is safe to use even during pediatric dental procedures.

• • Effective

It’s an effective pain reliever and also induces a mild to moderate level of sedation, ensuring that patients are comfortable and not anxious

How Does Laughing Gas Work?

Laughing gas is designed to interact with your neurotransmitters and brain receptors, reducing pain and anxiety like an opioid would do. Apart from this, nitrous oxide also facilitates the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for the feel-good feeling you get when using laughing gas.

Due to this, laughing gas can make patients stay calm and relaxed during dental procedures or even numb out pan during dental processes.

However, these effects will wear off approximately two minutes after the gas has been shut off. Usually, you will be made to breathe in pure oxygen once the procedure is over to displace that nitrous oxide from your lungs and eliminate any of its effects.

Is Laughing Gas Safe?

Laughing gas is ADA-approved and is, therefore, safe to use. However, you should ensure that this or any form of dental sedation is administered under the watch of a certified dentist.

Contact us today at We Care Dental SC if you are looking for a certified sedation dentist.