Nitrous oxide – laughing gas
Stress-free dental treatment using nitrous oxide – for children and adults – is available at our dental practice. Inhalation sedation, as the procedure is called, involves administering a special mixture of gases via a mask which, acting soothingly, makes it possible to carry out effective, efficient treatment.
The gas itself is:
- colourless,
- odourless,
- it can be administered to patients with heart diseases,
- it does not cause muscle relaxation,
- it does not affect blood pressure,
- it does not cause slowing of breathing or hypoxia,
- it can be administered to patients with asthma,
- it slightly reduces the contractility of the heart muscle,
- it does not accumulate in fatty tissue,
- it begins to act after just a few minutes,
- the patient's return to full fitness occurs within 5–30 min – regardless of the length of nitrous oxide administration.
This method is characterised by safety and simplicity of use
The mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen, popularly known as laughing gas, acts:
- soothingly,
- as a painkiller,
- as an anaesthetic.
It may have a hallucinogenic effect and cause retrograde amnesia.
Undergoing inhalation sedation with laughing gas can be of key importance for shortening the duration of the procedure, and even for the very possibility of performing it.
Inhalation sedation is used in children as young as over 3 years of age who easily establish contact with the dentist. The procedure is never carried out by force. Nitrous oxide inhalation sedation is considered so safe for the health of little ones that it can be carried out without the participation of an anaesthesiologist.
Sedation is indicated in people with asthma, epilepsy, haemophilia, heart diseases or hypertension. Thanks to the administration of nitrous oxide – laughing gas – the risk of undesirable reactions caused by stress decreases.
In each case, the dentist decides on qualification for the procedure using nitrous oxide.
Contraindications to the inhalation sedation procedure:
- a cold, hypertrophy of the pharyngeal tonsils – obstruction of the upper respiratory tract,
- the first trimester of pregnancy,
- mental illnesses,
- multiple sclerosis, porphyria, myasthenia gravis,
- bronchiectasis, pulmonary emphysema,
- addiction to narcotic substances,
- lack of patient cooperation.
Often a side effect of the procedure is the permanent removal of fear of dental procedures.