dental sedation

The Oral Conscious Sedation Dentist (video)

February 15, 2010 By Julie Frey 2 Comments

The sedation dentist has many tools to calm patients with dental anxiety, but one of the methods most commonly used is oral conscious sedation.

In our survey, two-thirds of dentists reported that their practices offer sedation dentistry with OCS.

“It is an excellent tool for the patient with dental fear who has not been to the dentist in years," offered one sedation dentist. "It is a major part of my practice."

“The regulations are overly onerous," said a pediatric dentist. "More rules and regulations won’t prevent irresponsible behavior–it will only prevent many competent practitioners from utilizing this modality."

“I have a permit to do IV sedation in addition to oral sedation, which does not work for at least 50% of patients," said another dentist.

Sedation Dentist? For Many Patients, Not During a Recession

January 19, 2010 By Julie Frey Leave a Comment

Many patients who might see a sedation dentist are avoiding sedation dentistry for less expensive options, found this survey. Two out of three dentists say the recession has led to a decrease in demand for sleep dentistry.

This is especially true of oral conscious sedation, but also holds true for IV sedation.

“There’s also been a decrease in demand for dental implants and cosmetic dentistry," said one dentist. “People are trying to save wherever they can,” agreed a periodontist.

Here are some further comments:

"All of dentistry is elective excluding a simple extraction. When times are bad and money is tight, dentistry can be delayed, including broken fillings, cleanings, crowns, etc." (Indiana dentist)
"If it costs more for sedation dentistry…or anything else…patients would rather not do it or delay treatment." (General dentist)
“The recession is causing patients to defer anything except what they perceive to be critical care.” (Maine dentist)
"Demand has stayed the same or slightly INCREASED!” (Indiana dentist)
“Case sizes are smaller as dental financing is not as readily available.” (Tennessee dentist)
This is the first time an economic slowdown/recession has ever affected our practice.” (California dentist)

Filed Under: Dental Surveys, Sedation Dentistry Tagged With: conscious sedation, dental sedation, IV sedation, oral conscious sedation, sedation dentistry, Sedation Dentistry, sleep dentistry

Sedation Dentistry Costs Vary Widely

April 14, 2009 By Julie Frey 5 Comments

This survey found 97% of responding dentists happily offering OCS. The average fee for oral conscious sedation is about $300. Some dentists don’t charge, whereas others ask as much as $650.

A third offer IV sedation, charging about $500. But intravenous sedation fees ranged from $250-$800.

Only 6% have general anesthesia capabilities. Ranging from $320 to $1200, anesthesia costs around $700.

Here are few comments from responding dentists:

"We often comp the sedation fee on big cases." (California dentist)
"As a dentist certified in oral and IV sedation, I find oral sedation to be of limited benefit to my more anxious patients." (New York dentist)
"We charge a higher fee for smokers, where they take longer to manage." (Kentucky dentist)
"It is my opinion that dental anesthesiology will help dentistry and open the way for more training and treatment by dentists." (Dental anesthesiologist)

Filed Under: Dental Surveys, Sedation Dentistry Tagged With: anesthesia, conscious sedation, dental anxiety, dental sedation, IV sedation, OCS, oral sedation, sedation, sedation dentistry

Cosmetic Dentistry Is Dentists’ Favorite Treatment Option

June 24, 2008 By Julie Frey Leave a Comment

Dental Implants & Sedation Dentistry Are Also Popular

Dental Survey Results In our most recent survey, we asked dentists about their favorite treatment options. Cosmetic dentistry was the clear winner, pulling in over one-third of the total vote (and one-half of he general dentist vote). Dental implants were the runner-up.

There were distinct differences between general dentists and specialists. While nearly half of general dentists favored cosmetic dentistry, only 16% of specialists did. Among specialists, dental implants were the favorite treatment option.

There were also notable differences between urban and rural dentists. Rural dentists were significantly more likely to vote for cosmetic dentistry as their favorite option. While Invisalign was preferred by one-quarter of urban dentists, no rural dentists reported feeling the same way.

Here are some other treatment options dentists like: