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Sapphire Dental Studio has a dentist anesthesiologist on staff. That is rare, and it is the difference between a dentist who also gives you a sedative and a specialist whose entire training is keeping you safe while you are under.
Key facts
The distinction that matters
In most practices offering sedation, the dentist performing your treatment is also the person who sedated you and is responsible for monitoring you. They are competent and it is usually fine. But their attention is genuinely divided, and yours is the airway.
Dr. Walbom completed a dental anesthesiology residency. When he is in the room, sedation is not something happening alongside your treatment — it is the only thing he is doing. He watches your oxygen saturation, your blood pressure, your heart rhythm and your breathing from the moment the medication goes in until you are awake and stable.
That is the entire reason a practice this size employs one.
Three depths
Two people having the same filling can need completely different levels. We ask how you feel, not just what we are doing.
Level 01
A mask over the nose, a light floating calm, and full awareness throughout. It takes about two minutes to work and about five to wear off — you drive yourself home. Best for routine work when you are tense rather than frightened.
Included: 5 visits a year on every membership plan
Level 02
A tablet taken before the appointment. You stay awake and able to respond, but drowsy and detached, and most of the visit blurs. Good for longer appointments and for people who dread the days beforehand as much as the chair.
You will need a driver
Level 03
Delivered through a vein and adjusted continuously, so the depth is dialled to you in real time rather than guessed from a dose. Most patients remember nothing. This is how a full-arch surgery, or years of avoided work, gets done in one sitting.
You will need a driver
What happens
Medical history, medications, previous experiences with sedation or anaesthesia, and an honest conversation about what specifically frightens you. Dr. Walbom reviews all of it and recommends a level.
Written instructions: when to stop eating, which medications to take, what to wear, who is driving. Nothing is left to be remembered from a conversation.
Sedation is started and monitored continuously. Weighted blanket, headphones, your own screen. The treating specialist works while Dr. Walbom watches you.
You come round in the chair and are kept until you are stable and steady. Your driver is briefed on aftercare, and someone from the practice calls you the next day.
Standard, not extras
Sedation is the big lever. These are the ones that make the difference for everyone else.
Questions
The three used here are nitrous oxide, oral sedatives and intravenous sedation. They differ in depth: nitrous takes the edge off and wears off within minutes, oral sedation makes the appointment hazy, and IV sedation is titrated continuously so most patients have little or no memory of the visit.
It is generally very safe, but certain medical conditions and medications affect eligibility, which is why a full health history is reviewed first. Having a dentist anesthesiologist assess that history, rather than the treating dentist, is the single biggest safety difference between practices.
It depends on the depth. With nitrous you will remember the appointment but will not mind it. With IV sedation most patients have little to no memory of the procedure at all, which is usually the point for people with genuine dental phobia.
Nitrous oxide clears in about five minutes and you can drive yourself home. Oral and IV sedation linger for several hours, so you must arrange for someone to drive you and you should not work or make decisions that day.
For oral and IV sedation you will be asked not to eat or drink for several hours beforehand. Exact instructions depend on the sedation method and your medical history, and are given to you in writing at the consultation.
Winter Garden, FL
Nobody here is going to comment on how long it has been. Tell us what you are worried about and we will tell you how we would handle it.