Monday, October 1, 2007

Valium - drug used to sedate dental patients

Dentists can use a number of medications to sedate their patients, and many patients assume sedations dentistry means they will be asleep during the procedure. That is usually not the case. Some the most commonly used drugs to sedate dental patients are triazolam, Valium (diazepam), lorazepam (Ativan) zaleoplon (Sonata) and hydroxyzine (Vistaril).
All of these medications have been proven to be safe and effective. Since all of these drugs work in different ways and last for different amounts of time, your cosmetic surgeon will discuss the differences with you and decide which drug is most appropriate for the dental work you are having done that day. Triazolam is the most popular choice because it actually has an amnesiac effect, and patients rarely remember what even happened at their appointment. This drug is especially effective for patients who are afraid of the dentist.
Some of these medications make the patient drowsy enough that he/she will sleep through the procedure. Sometimes the sedative/analgesic is given in pill form and sometimes it is administered intravenously. For obvious reasons, being sedated before their dental procedures are not have someone with them to drive them home from the dentist's office.
Sedation dentistry is not for everyone, but for those who have been avoiding getting their teeth fixed due to fear of the dentist, sedation dentistry is the solution they've been looking for.