Sedation Dentistry
At Capital Dental, we use advanced sedation dentistry for a wide variety of in-house services. Our goal is to ensure you are comfortable, calm, and relaxed through any dental treatment or dental procedure.
What is Sedation Dentistry?
Sedation dentistry is the use of any type of dental sedation to reduce stress, anxiety, and any physical pain associated with dental treatment. Sedation is a safe and convenient way to help you feel more relaxed while at the dentist while your treatment is being completed. We offer dental sedation through laughing gas, general anesthesia, and IV sedation. IV sedation is most commonly used at Capital Dental for surgical procedures, such as wisdom teeth removal or dental implants.
It’s important that you feel comfortable and safe during your procedure. Before any procedure, your doctor will recommend the appropriate level of sedation that meets your needs. Then, we will set up your appointment and plan accordingly for your procedure, knowing that you will be relaxed and calm during the dental appointment.
Call Capital Dental Schedule OnlineHow Much Does Sedation Dentistry Cost?
At Capital Dental, we focus on providing outstanding dental care that’s affordable for our patients in Lincoln, NE. The cost for dental sedation varies based on sedation type, how long you will be sedated, and your insurance coverage at the time of the procedure. Our office is happy to provide out-of-pocket estimates for your individual treatment—during your visit or over the phone.
- Nitrous Sedation (laughing gas): $5
- Oral Sedation: $50
- IV Sedation: $0-$618
IV sedation is $168 for the first 15 minutes + $140 for each subsequent increment. Most IV sedation procedures take an hour or less to complete.
Certain PPO plans may cover up to 100%.
See All Office Fees Call Capital Dental
Dental Sedation Options
Nitrous (laughing gas) is an easy sedation technique involving nitrous oxide gas that is pumped into a patient’s nose to inhale. After receiving the nitrous for 5 minutes, many people feel a sense of calm and also experience a reduced feeling of many sensations, including pressure and pain. Laughing gas, as it’s also known, is a short-acting pain reliever and anxiolytic agent, meaning that it reduces pain and anxiety. It’s extremely safe and wears off approximately 5 minutes after the procedure ends. With this short-acting sedation option, you can drive to and from your appointment with no worries.
Oral Sedation is a deeper form of sedation that gives patients more of a ‘fuzzy’ memory of the appointment. The patient takes the medication anywhere between 12 hours and 1 hour before the appointment and then has a driver bring them to the office. By the appointment time, the medication will have taken effect, resulting in an appointment where the patient is very sleepy and feels no pain or sensations. This sedation method is slightly riskier and usually only available for generally healthy people who have a driver available to bring them to and from the appointment.
IV Sedation is the safest method of sedation because the medications can be tailored to each patient’s own levels extremely quickly. This method requires a driver to and from the appointment and is available for healthy individuals with no major health conditions. The patient will feel a little pinch in the arm and then the medications will create a full-sleep appointment with no memory of anything for the patient.
Prepare For Your Procedure
It’s important that you follow our instructions when preparing for your appointment where IV sedation will be in use.
- Make sure you are healthy. If any symptoms of a head or chest cold are present prior to your appointment, we may want to reschedule your procedure.
- 8 hour fast. No eating anything 8 hours prior to appointment. You may drink water, unsweetened tea, or black coffee (no cream or sugar) up until 3 hours prior to the appointment. All other liquids/solids MUST be stopped 8 hours prior.
- Dress comfortably. No tight clothes or long-sleeved tops as access to the arm is needed for the blood pressure cuff.
- NO fingernail polish. Remove all forms of fingernail polish so it does not interfere with the equipment.
- Must have a designated driver. Someone will need to drive you to your appointment and drive you home. This person MUST remain in the office or vehicle during the procedure and we ask they do not run any errands during this time. This person is your responsible party.
- If you are under the age of 19, this must be your parent or guardian.
- Designate a caretaker. We ask that someone remains with you for at least 4 hours following the procedure.
- For 24 hours, no driving, operating machinery (including lawn mowers, tractors, etc…), or power tools.
Sedation Dentistry FAQs
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Is dental sedation safe?
Yes! Sedation is a very safe option for those with dental anxiety. After a discussion with Dr. Killeen or Dr. Chapek—we will find the best route for you that is safe, but also allows you the peace of mind that you will not experience any anxiety or fear around the dental procedure.
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Will I be unconscious during the procedure?
No—you won’t actually be unconscious, but you’ll sleep through the procedure and will have little or no memory of it.
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Will I be awake? What will I hear?
For laughing gas sedation, or nitrous, you will hear everything, but most of the time you just won't care because of the laughing gas. This sedation has a very quick onset and quick ending.
Under IV sedation, you will not hear any of the noises that occur. This is the highest level of sedation and you will leave with little or no memory of the procedure.
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Do I need a driver?
For IV sedation you will need a driver before and after the procedure, as well as someone to help bring you home and stay with you for a couple of hours after the procedure. The medications that are used in IV sedation make it dangerous for you to be driving afterward.
However, laughing gas sedation, or Nitrous, is very safe and fast. You can drive yourself to and from the dental appointment.
Meet Your Dentists
Dr. Brandon Chapek
DDS
Dr. Chapek completed his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Dentistry, completed an oral surgery fellowship, and has additional training in sedation dentistry, wisdom tooth surgery, dental implants, and bone/tissue grafting.
Dr. Addison Killeen
DDS
Dr. Killeen is a Lincoln native, who completed his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree at the University of Nebraska College of Dentistry. He has authored multiple books and co-founded numerous businesses that focus on providing support to dentists across the globe.
See What Our Patients Are Saying
Ensuring patients feel safe and comfortable is a top priority at Capital Dental—but don't just take our word for it. See what some of our patients are saying about how we've helped them with dental anxiety.
I have a lot of anxiety about going to the dentist and have struggled for the longest time to find a dentist office that I feel comfortable going to. Starting with the front desk staff all the way to the dentist and his assistant I had a great experience. Dr. Killeen and his staff were kind, calm, and patient. They listened to all of my concerns and fears and explained what they were doing each step of the way. They often asked me throughout my procedure how I was doing and checked to make sure I felt comfortable. What I felt was going to be an incredibly overwhelming procedure turned into a quick and painless one. I could not believe how quickly the work on my teeth was completed. Their office has several options for my procedure, options for relaxing you during the procedure, and discussed with me the applicable care plan for me ahead of time so I knew what portion of the bill I would be responsible for. Their office is clean and well taken care of. I highly recommend Capital Dental!
- Tiffanie
The receptionist, hygienist, and dentist all eased my fears, acknowledged my anxiety, provided helpful treatment options and I left knowing I had a dentist for my whole life!
- DG
I shared my past experiences and my current issues. They absolutely did an excellent job of listening and talking through everything happening. I would definitely go back again and would recommend them to anyone!! I have high anxiety and they did wonders!!
- Alisha
Today was my second time at Capital Dental with Dr. Chapek and I couldn’t say enough good things about his work. I’m not sure if he’s just that good or just very gentle, but I’ve had the best experience and my recovery from both appointments has been awesome! I would definitely recommend it here, especially if you feel anxious about the dentist.
- Hannah
The BEST!!! My anxiety about the procedure I needed kept me from seeing a dentist for too many years. They dealt with that and eased my mind through the entire process. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of professionals. Amazing work guys!! Thank you!!!
- Curtis
All the staff are super friendly and understanding of how afraid I am. They eased my mind and made sure I understood everything about my upcoming procedure.
- Christina
Very friendly staff and very clean facility. Appreciate being talked through everything they are going to do every step of the way and amazing how they make it so painless. Thank you Capital Dental for the amazing work.