Dental Anaesthesia & Sedation
How we keep treatment comfortable and pain-free.
Local anaesthesia keeps procedures painless; sedation options help anxious patients relax.
Options
Local anaesthesia for most treatments; sedation for nervous patients or longer implant surgery.
Comfort First
We tailor comfort to each patient.
Most Dentistry Needs Only Local Anaesthesia
Fillings, crowns, veneers, extractions and the placement of individual implants are routinely done with local anaesthetic alone. You are fully awake, feel pressure but no pain, and can leave unaccompanied.
Modern techniques — topical gel before the needle, warmed and buffered solutions, slow delivery — make the injection itself far less unpleasant than its reputation.
When Sedation Is Offered
Inhalation sedation (nitrous oxide): mild, wears off within minutes, you stay conscious and can usually travel home alone.
Oral sedation: a tablet before treatment. You are drowsy and must be accompanied.
Intravenous sedation: deeper, titrated by a specialist. You respond to voice but remember little. Requires monitoring, fasting and an escort.
General anaesthesia: unconscious, in hospital, with an anaesthetist. Reserved for full-arch surgery, zygomatic implants, extensive grafting, or genuine inability to tolerate treatment.
Sedation Is Not the Same as Pain Relief
This surprises patients. Sedation reduces anxiety and awareness; it does not block pain. Local anaesthetic is still given under every form of sedation, including general anaesthesia.
So if your fear is the needle, sedation helps. If your fear is pain, it is the local anaesthetic that does the work — and it works.
Safety and What Must Be Checked
Deeper sedation carries real requirements: an anaesthetist or trained sedationist present, continuous monitoring of oxygen and heart rate, resuscitation equipment, fasting instructions, and a responsible adult to accompany you.
Ask who administers it and what their qualification is. Disclose all medication, especially sedatives, opioids, alcohol use and sleep apnoea — sleep apnoea materially changes sedation risk.
If You Are Anxious
Say so, early. Ask for a longer first appointment with no treatment. Agree a stop signal. Ask for topical gel and slow injection. Many patients who believed they needed general anaesthesia complete treatment comfortably with local anaesthetic and a dentist who explains as they go.
General anaesthesia carries risks that local anaesthesia does not. It should be chosen for a clinical reason, not sold as a convenience.
This page provides general information and does not replace professional dental advice. A binding plan follows clinical examination and imaging.
Frequently Asked Questions
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