Anesthesia Options

Choosing the Best Anesthesia Option for Your Procedure

At Southwest Oral and Implant Surgery, we want you to be completely relaxed and calm for your procedure. We know that the thought of oral surgery can make you anxious and fearful, which is why our skilled and trained staff will be at your side to reassure you and answer any questions you may have.

We will go over all pain management choices with you during your consultation.Together, we will determine what type of anesthesia will work best for you and will make you most comfortable.

Dr. Michael K. Eklund is trained and licensed in safe Intravenous (IV) Sedation. He is a Fellow, American Dental Society of Anesthesiology and has over three decades of experience with IV Sedation. Your oral surgery anesthesia choices include:

Local Anesthesia

A topical anesthetic is applied only to the surgical area, allowing the tissue to numb prior to injection. You will not be able to feel the surgery area once local anesthesia is applied, but you will be fully awake during the procedure.

Local Anesthesia with Nitrous (laughing gas)

Nitrous is applied by placing a small cannula (tubing) into your nose. This is done a few minutes before the topical and local anesthesia is applied, in order to relax you and take the edge off the injection.  Once the local anesthesia is working you should not feel any discomfort during the procedure.

Intravenous (IV) Sedation (twilight sleep or conscious sedation)

IV Sedation gives you short-term relaxation and partial tranquilization.An IV is placed in your arm or your hand to inject medication. A cold numbing spray will be applied to your arm prior to injection to decrease any discomfort. Four to six medications are given through the IV, which will place you into a light sleep for a short amount of time while the procedure is taking place. Many steps are taken to ensure that you are safe during the procedure, such as EKG, blood pressure, and pulse monitoring, just as if you were in the hospital. For upper jaw surgery the surgery area will continue to be numb for three hours and eight - 12 hours for lower jaw surgery. Due to the usage of local anesthesia in addition to IV medication, most patients who have experienced IV sedation felt like they had been completely asleep. Approximately a third of patients will not require any post-op pain medications.

General Anesthesia

Most true general anesthetics are done in a hospital setting.General anesthesia puts you in a deep unconscious sleep. General anesthesia administration and recovery is similar to IV sedation, although waking up from general anesthesia may take longer than with IV sedation.Our trained staff constantly monitors your EKG, blood pressure, and pulse to ensure that everything goes smoothly and that you are completely safe.

For IV Sedation, you should plan on being in the office for two hours. The surgery will take approximately one hour. You should plan on a two day recovery. You will probably feel like sleeping most of the first day and taking it easy around the house. The second day you should be able to do paperwork or work on the phone if you like. Working out or heavy manual labor should be postponed for the first four days to prevent more bleeding.

Pre-Op Information

Visit our Pre-Op Instructions page for information on how to prepare for your surgery.

General Office Information

On the day of surgery you will be given written and oral instructions and shown a postoperative movie to educate you about how to take care of yourself after surgery.This will include everything from stopping the oozing to ice packs, rinses, and diet. Prescriptions for pain, antibiotics, and sometimes, an antibiotic mouth rinse will be given if you did not receive them at the initial consult.

You will need a post-operative appointment visit in one week. Most of the time, resorbable (dissolving) sutures are used so the post-operative appointment is short and without discomfort. If you have had an extraction, a disposable syringe for the irrigation of the socket(s) will be provided at the end of your post-op visit.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your anesthesia choices, please contact our office.