Minimal Sedation Information for Patients
Allowing our patients the opportunity to take premedication before their appointment is one of the ways we can make dentistry more comfortable for those who have high levels of anxiety or are in for a long appointment.
Anxiolysis (which can also be referred to as Minimal Sedation) is used for relieving anxiety during dental treatment. It helps to make you feel relaxed, calm, and sleepy. The types of medications we prescribe for this purpose are Lorazepam and Temazepam. It is in a group of drugs called benzodiazepines (ben-zoe-dye-AZE-eh-peens).
Some important things to note while you prepare for your appointment if you wish to have premedication beforehand:
You will need to arrive at your appointment one hour before treatment is scheduled to start. This allows enough time for the medication to take effect before we begin your treatment. If you have an appointment card this will have your premedication time.
Once you have taken the medication you will need to be under supervision of one of our lovely staff members, within the building, at all times.
You will be unable to drive for 24 hours so will need a responsible adult to drop you off and pick you up from your appointment and spend the 12 hours following your appointment with you. This responsible adult will need to be seen by staff before you're able to leave as many patients have trouble with balance and vision so for your own safety are unable to be left alone. (If you do not have someone to care for you we are not able to prescribe the medication)
Lorazepam/Temazepam are quite long acting drugs. You will be quite sleepy and relaxed for the entire day after your appointment so we ask you to leave it free so you can rest at home.
While under the influence of Lorazepam/Temazepam you should not make any important decisions and are not able to sign any legal documents or drive heavy machinery for 24hrs after after taking the medication.
Before taking Lorazepam/Temazepam, we ask that you let our staff know if you have any breathing problems like sleep apnoea, glaucoma, kidney or liver disease, or a history of depression, suicidal thoughts, or addiction to drugs or alcohol.
We ask that you advise our staff of any medications you may be taking that you haven’t listed on your medical history, especially those that cause drowsiness, to prevent any adverse side effects that may occur if the medications are mixed. (Mixing medications can be dangerous. If we have asked you to stop taking some of your other medications for a period of time, we may not be able to prescribe Lorazepam/Temazepam if this doesn’t occur.)
The conditions above are for your safety. Failure to follow them puts yourself, your dentist and our clinic at risk. For this reason if any of the above conditions are not followed we may not be able to prescribe minimal sedation medication.