Albuquerque Dentist—Nitrous Oxide/Laughing Gas
We know that people don’t always love a trip to the dentist, and many times patients are nervous about dental procedures. Nitrous oxide—also known as laughing gas—is a comfortable and relatively risk-free method we use for calming our patients before various dental procedures. You can even use nitrous oxide for a routine cleaning.
How it works
We administer nitrous oxide gas with a comfortable mask that we place over your nose. To reduce your risk of nausea, we suggest that you do not eat for about 2 hours before your procedure. You may feel your cheeks and gums begin to go numb, but you should experience a pleasant sense of calm right away. Most patients report no negative side effects from nitrous oxide sedation.
Once the procedure is over, we give you 100% oxygen to breathe for about five minutes, after which time the affects of the nitrous are all gone and you are able to effectively drive home and/or go back to work.
Benefits of Nitrous Oxide
Albuquerque dentists like us know the value of keeping our patients happy. Nitrous oxide has been used in dentistry for over a hundred years because of the many ways it can assist patients who are undergoing painful or stressful dental ordeals. There are many benefits to using nitrous oxide during dental procedures, including:
- Calms anxiety
- Reduces fear
- Causes less side effects than general anesthesia
- Relieves pain
- Acts quickly
- Poses few risks
- Is pain-free (unlike anesthesia injections)
- Lasts for a short period of time (unless accompanied by another anesthetic)
- Does not leave a groggy feeling afterwards
- Is very inexpensive
If you are nervous about your dental procedure, let us know! We will be happy to try and make your visit more comfortable with the use of nitrous oxide.