Nitrous Oxide Sedation in Glenmont, NY

Anxiety over visits to the dentist affects people in different ways. Some find that familiar sounds and smells stir up memories of a negative experience in childhood. In many cases, anxiety is the result of fear about feeling discomfort.

A Gentle, Caring Approach

At Bethlehem Town Family Dental, we know that dental anxiety can make it difficult to maintain the regular appointments you need for a healthy smile. We want to show you that high-quality dental treatment can be easy when your stress is managed with appropriate care and sedation.

We’ve found that a caring and compassionate approach can go a long way toward helping you overcome your anxiety. Your fear may seem overwhelming, but lots of us have been there ourselves. Our team is sensitive to your concerns and will go out of our way to support you and ensure that your dental care is as stress-free as possible.

Safe, Effective Nitrous Oxide Sedation

Nitrous oxide ("laughing gas") is a very mild form of sedation. In fact, it’s so mild that it’s commonly used to help children relax during dental treatment. Nitrous oxide gas has been used extensively since the 1860s and has proven to be a safe and effective method of sedation.

The main function of nitrous oxide is to reduce your anxiety level, minimize any pain sensation, and produce a happier emotional state. Most patients would describe feeling tingling, funny, happy, and sometimes sleepy.

The nickname for nitrous oxide is laughing gas, and you may have images of a patient laughing hysterically under the influence of nitrous. In reality, that would never occur under controlled circumstances where the flow of gas is carefully monitored and adjusted as needed during treatment. For most procedures, you wouldn’t be under nitrous sedation for more than 30 minutes or an hour at most, so there’s no danger of long-term exposure.

Your Safety Is Our Top Priority

However, nitrous oxide does pose risks for pregnant women and people with pre-existing Vitamin B12 deficiency, so we do not allow these patients to be in the room when nitrous oxide is being used. Furthermore, all our nitrous equipment has fail-safe mechanisms that prevent administration of more than 70% nitrous oxide.

This means that the air provided from the nitrous oxide gas tubes will always supply at least 30% oxygen. Since regular room air has about 22% oxygen, you can rest assured the 30% oxygen is more than enough to supply oxygen to the entire body.

Overcome Anxiety and Get the Care You Need

Receiving outstanding dental care is important, but it certainly doesn’t need to be stressful! If dental visits are intimidating for you, you might feel like you are a hopeless case and will never be able to keep your mouth healthy. But we’d love to show you the difference that supportive, gentle care can make. Please contact our Glenmont dental office for more information about our safe, effective nitrous oxide sedation.