Sedation and sleep dentistry
Sedation can be arranged at Y3 Smiles Dental in Broadmeadows. A visiting registered specialist anaesthetist attends on set sedation days and provides either IV sedation, where you are drowsy but rousable, or a general anaesthetic, where you are asleep.
What is sedation and sleep dentistry?
Most dental treatment is done with local anaesthetic, which numbs the tooth while you stay fully awake. For some people that is not enough, and no amount of going slowly makes it enough. Sedation is for them. Two different things get called sleep dentistry, and it is worth being clear which is which before you choose. With IV sedation, medicine is given through a drip and you become deeply relaxed and drowsy. You are not unconscious: you can respond if spoken to, and you breathe on your own. Most people remember little or nothing afterwards, which is usually what they actually wanted. With a general anaesthetic, you are properly asleep and aware of nothing at all. Neither is provided by our dentists. Both are provided by a registered specialist anaesthetist, a doctor who does nothing else, who comes to the clinic on days set aside for it. Your dentist does the dental work; the anaesthetist looks after you while it happens. Because a visiting anaesthetist and a whole day have to be organised around you, this is not something that can be decided in the chair. We ask you to commit to the appointment before we arrange it on your behalf, and the anaesthetist charges their own fee, separately from ours, which you should ask them about before you commit. It is also worth knowing what we do not offer: there is no nitrous oxide, or happy gas, at Y3 Smiles Dental. And sedation is not the first answer to being nervous. Plenty of people who arrive certain they need to be asleep get through treatment awake once someone explains what is happening and stops when asked. That conversation costs nothing and is where we would rather start.
When might you need sedation or sleep dentistry?
Dental anxiety that has not responded to anything else
Where going slowly, stopping on a signal and shorter appointments have all been tried and treatment still cannot happen.
A strong gag reflex
Where gagging makes treatment towards the back of the mouth genuinely impossible rather than just unpleasant.
Long or complex treatment
Several surgical extractions, or a number of implants, where doing everything in one sitting is easier than many visits.
Treatment that has been avoided for years
Where a lot of work has accumulated and the idea of starting is the thing standing in the way.
Difficulty staying still or tolerating treatment
Some patients with additional needs are safer and more comfortable asleep, and that is a decision made with you and, where relevant, your carer or doctor.
What happens, in short
Talk to us first
A conversation about what you find hard. Sometimes the answer turns out to be a longer appointment and a stop signal rather than sedation at all.
Dental assessment and plan
Your dentist works out what treatment you need and how long it will take, because that decides whether sedation is sensible and which kind suits.
Committing to the day
We ask you to commit before we organise anything, because a visiting anaesthetist and a day at the clinic are being booked around your appointment.
The anaesthetist's assessment
The anaesthetist reviews your medical history and medicines, tells you how to prepare, and quotes their own fee. Ask them anything you would ask a hospital anaesthetist, because that is what they are.
The day itself
You arrive having followed the fasting and medicine instructions, with someone to take you home. The anaesthetist looks after you throughout while your dentist does the treatment.
Going home and afterwards
You are monitored until you are ready to leave, and your escort takes you home. You do not drive, work or sign anything important that day.
What does it cost?
There are two fees, and they come from two places. Y3 quotes the dental treatment in the usual way, in writing and itemised. The anaesthetist sets and bills their own fee separately, and we do not quote it on their behalf, so ask them for that figure before you commit. Health funds treat the two differently again, and some hospital cover can apply to the anaesthetist's part, which is worth a phone call to your fund.
You get a written, itemised quote with item numbers before any treatment starts, so you can check it with your health fund. Health funds · Payment options
Will I actually be asleep?
With a general anaesthetic, yes. With IV sedation, no: you are deeply relaxed and drowsy, you can respond, and you breathe on your own.
Both get called sleep dentistry, which is where the confusion starts. Most people who have IV sedation remember little or nothing, and describe it afterwards as having slept, but that is memory rather than unconsciousness. The anaesthetist will explain which one is being proposed for you and why.
Who looks after me while I am sedated?
A registered specialist anaesthetist, a doctor who attends the clinic on days set aside for sedation.
They are not one of our dentists doing a second job. Their whole role that day is monitoring you and managing the sedation, while your dentist concentrates on the treatment. Dr Fatima Kurnaz reviews the clinical information on this page.
Why can't I decide on the day?
Because an anaesthetist has to be booked and a day organised around you, which is done on the strength of your commitment.
It is the one part of our booking that cannot be casual. We would rather explain that plainly than let you arrive hoping, and it is why we ask you to commit before anything is arranged. If you are unsure, the honest step is the conversation first, not the booking.
What does it cost?
Two separate fees: ours for the dental treatment, and the anaesthetist's for the sedation, which they set and bill themselves.
We quote our part in writing, itemised, before anything is booked. We do not quote theirs, because it is not ours to quote. Ask them for their figure when they assess you, and ask your health fund how each part is treated, because they are often treated differently.
Do you offer happy gas?
No. There is no nitrous oxide at Y3 Smiles Dental.
If that is what you have had before and what you were hoping for, say so when you call, because it changes what we can offer you and it is better known early than on the day.
Is sedation the right answer for being nervous?
Not always, and not usually as a first step. A lot of anxious people get through treatment awake once they are properly listened to.
Being talked through it, agreeing a signal that stops everything, and booking longer appointments so nothing is rushed all do more than people expect. Sedation is still there if that is not enough, and needing it is not a failure. It is simply a bigger arrangement, so it is worth trying the smaller one first.
How do I prepare?
You will be given fasting and medicine instructions by the anaesthetist, and you must have a responsible adult to take you home.
No driving for the rest of the day, no work, and nothing that needs a clear head. Follow the fasting instructions exactly: an appointment gets cancelled on the day if they have not been, and that wastes the arrangement everyone has made.
More about sedation and sleep dentistry
Other questions people ask
Can I have sedation for one filling?
It is possible, though it is a large arrangement for a small piece of treatment, and the anaesthetist's fee applies whatever the size of the job. Most people in that position try a longer appointment with plenty of explanation first.
Is it safe?
It is provided by a registered specialist anaesthetist who assesses your medical history beforehand and monitors you throughout. As with any anaesthetic there are risks, and they will go through the ones that apply to you before you agree.
Can my child have sedation?
Talk to us about it. Children are assessed on their own terms, and a conversation with your dentist about what your child actually finds difficult comes before any arrangement is organised.
Can I bring someone with me?
Yes, and for sedation you must: a responsible adult has to take you home and stay with you afterwards. You cannot drive yourself, and you should not go home alone.
What if I change my mind?
Tell us as early as you can. Because a visiting anaesthetist and a booked day are involved, late changes affect other people's appointments, which is why we ask you to commit before it is arranged.
Does my health fund cover it?
The dental treatment and the anaesthetist's fee are treated differently, and some hospital cover applies to the anaesthetist's part. Ring your fund about both before you commit, and ask us for the item numbers on our part.