At Dental Care West, we aim to help our nervous patients feel as relaxed as they can be. However sometimes that still isn’t enough, so then we can offer Sleep Dentistry. It is one of the most comfortable and fear-free ways to have dental work done.

At Dentalcare West we have hospital-grade, General Anaesthetic theatre designed especially for advanced dental procedures. We believe we are the only general dental clinic in New Zealand to have this! Our specialist anaesthetists and anaesthetic team enable us to carry out dentistry and surgery under General Anaesthesia using a modern and comfortable method of total intravenous anaesthesia “TIVA”, that involves you being put to sleep without gases (which makes you feel better once awake) and Bispectral index “BIS” monitoring to ensure you are at the perfect level of sedation during treatment.

Many dental practices offer IV sedation, but at Dentalcare West our General Anaesthetic is much better…

IV sedation only gives a light level of sedation, and the dentist needs to keep your airway open by holding your chin back during the appointment. Even though you are sedated you cannot be put deeply to sleep. This carries the risk that if you cough there is risk of inhalation of teeth/fillings as your lungs/throat are kept open and not protected. During the procedure you may try to sit up and scratch your nose which makes it very difficult to do any procedures well except extractions. Our dentists also feel that they can do a great job on your teeth, when they do not have to worry about your sedation and monitoring that throughout your procedure.

We are one of the first dental practice in New Zealand to have this level of facility for dentists.

Nitrous laughing gas: 1/10

Oral sedation: 3/10

IV sedation: 5/10

General anaesthetic: 10/10 – you wake up relaxed and remember nothing.

Anyone who is medically able and fit to be sedated. We find this out once you fill out the necessary information.

$2,250 for the first one hour $1,500 for every additional hour

This fee is covers:

• The use of the theatre and all special medicines
• The Specialist Consultant Anaesthetist and Anaesthetic technician.
• All booking procedures/emails
• Pre-op phone call with Anaesthetist (if required)
• Pre-op consultation with Dentist and anaesthetist just before your appointment
• Recovery in a private room with an assistant helping you and liaising with your pick-up person

To see if Sleep Dentistry is right for you, please call our friendly reception team so that they can arrange an appointment where you can be examined by one of our dental team, and more information provided to you.

In addition to greatly reducing dental anxiety, there are a number of benefits of sleep dentistry:

• It is a great time saving as all of your required dental treatment – from fillings to root canals to crowns and even multiple extractions – can all be completed in one appointment.
• It reduces sore jaws from having to hold your mouth open for extended periods.
• It minimises the gag reflex so it is easier for dentists to perform their work.
• You are completely relaxed which allows the dentist to work in an optimal environment – often speeding up the procedures and resulting in monetary savings for you.

Although sleep dentistry may not be right for everyone, it can be ideal for people who:

• Experience anxiety or fear about going to the dentist, particularly to the point where they delay going
• Have sensitive teeth
• Have had difficulty getting numb with standard numbing options Require complex or numerous dental procedures
• Have limited time to have dental procedures completed and therefore one single extended appointment is preferable
• Have had traumatic dental experiences in the past

Not only is sedation painless and stress-free, it is also very safe. We use state of the art techniques and continual monitoring to ensure your safety throughout the procedures.

When your procedures have been completed, we transfer you to one of our private recovery rooms. We also get your support person in to help you feel relaxed. It is normal to feel a bit groggy to start with. We will go through your post-care instructions carefully with you, and also give you a written copy of these to take with you

You will not be able to drive for the rest of the day and therefore will need to be taken home by your support person. The day after your treatment we will be in touch with you to check how you are feeling.