IV Sedation Dentistry

Intravenous (IV) sedation dentistry is a form of moderate sedation via the administration of a drug (usually an anti-anxiety medication) into the blood stream during dental treatment. Patients under IV sedation are not actually sleeping as they remain conscious and able to respond to their sedation dentist throughout the procedure. Instead, what IV sedation dentistry actually does is induce moderate relaxation and produce either partial or full memory loss, which sometimes can make patients feel like they were asleep. It is noted that not all patients respond adequately to IV moderate sedation.