Comfort · London
Conscious sedation relaxes you during dental treatment while you stay awake and able to answer the dentist. At Smalț it is done with nitrous oxide (laughing gas), for £250 per session, or intravenously with an anaesthetist, for £650 for a session of up to 3 hours. It suits long procedures such as full arch implants.
Why Smalț
Step by step
Sedation and comfort
01
Nitrous oxide sedation (laughing gas) is given through a small mask over the nose. It takes effect in 3 to 5 minutes, as a feeling of relaxation and heaviness, and wears off 5 to 10 minutes after the gas is stopped. Intravenous sedation is given through a drip by an anaesthetist and leaves you drowsy but able to respond. In both cases, the local anaesthetic is given after the sedation has started to work.
02
Before nitrous oxide sedation, eat lightly up to 2 hours before, and you can leave on your own after 15 minutes. For intravenous sedation, do not eat for 6 hours before, come with a companion and do not drive that day. If no one can come with you, the clinic can arrange a taxi home, and you send your medical history and current medicines before the appointment.
03
Conscious sedation suits patients with strong dental anxiety, a strong gag reflex, or long procedures such as full arch implants or several extractions. Nitrous oxide is also used for children, when the dentist recommends it. Conscious sedation is not general anaesthesia: you do not fall fully asleep and you breathe on your own.
04
Most anxious patients do not need sedation as much as they need pace. At Smalț we agree on a pause signal at the first visit, explain each step before we take it and can split treatment into shorter sessions. The local anaesthetic is given after a numbing gel on the gum, so the needle is felt less.
05
Nitrous oxide sedation costs £250 per session, whatever the length of treatment that day. Intravenous sedation costs £650 for a session of up to 3 hours and includes the anaesthetist, the medicines and monitoring. The sedation price is added to the treatment price and listed separately in the written plan.
Conscious sedation with nitrous oxide costs £250 per session. Intravenous sedation with an anaesthetist costs £650 for a session of up to 3 hours. The price is added to the treatment price.
No. Conscious sedation is not general anaesthesia. With nitrous oxide you are relaxed and awake. With intravenous sedation you are drowsy and can respond, and many people remember little of the procedure.
Flying the day after intravenous sedation is usually fine once the effect has fully worn off, but the limit set by the surgery itself also applies, for example after a sinus lift. The dentist confirms your travel date in the written plan.
Yes. The local anaesthetic is given after the sedation has started to work, and a numbing gel is applied to the gum first. If you prefer, the dentist tells you just before the injection.
Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) can be used for children, when the dentist recommends it, for longer treatment or for anxious children. Intravenous sedation is not given to children in the clinic.