Texas Dental Sedation is a portable dental practice limited to providing moderate intravenous sedation services directly to dental offices in and around the Brazos Valley. This allows patients to receive comfortable dental treatment without leaving their dental home, and it allows the treating dentists to focus entirely on patient care.
James Cunningham, DMD holds a Level 3 Parenteral Moderate Sedation Permit from the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners. He founded Texas Dental Sedation to expand sedation options available in dental offices in Bryan, College Station, and the surrounding areas. His mission is to bring relaxation and comfort to dental patients where they are. He administers on-site moderate IV sedation in coordination with the hosting dentist and dental team.
It is important to understand that sedation exists on a continuum, from mild relaxation to complete unconsciousness. Different levels of sedation are useful in different scenarios. Moderate sedation might neither be necessary nor sufficient in an individual case. Here's how moderate parenteral (IV) sedation — what Texas Dental Sedation provides — compares to the other levels.
A light relaxation effect — usually nitrous oxide ("laughing gas") alone. You stay fully awake and alert, with normal reflexes and responses. This can be effective for patients with very minimal dental anxiety.
A sedative pill is taken before your appointment. Because the medication is absorbed through the digestive system, the time of onset and the effect are not predictable. The medicine might make you drowsy, relaxed, and forget some or all of your dental appointment. It is a useful option for patients with moderate dental anxiety, but it could result in ineffective undersedation or potentially dangerous oversedation. Your level of sedation and vital signs are usually monitored with less equipment and by the dentist who is providing your treatment at the same time.
The sedative medication is delivered directly through an IV to bypass the digestive system. This allows for rapid on-set of the sedative effects — drowsiness, relaxation, and partial or complete amnesia. Unlike the pill form, the sedation depth can be fine-tuned throughout the procedure to meet your needs. Additionally, multiple medications can be combined to achieve the desired effect and reduce your pain experience. Your breathing and heart health are monitored continuously through visual assessment and a hospital grade monitor. If you choose Texas Dental Sedation for your appointment, you will have one dentist focused entirely on your safety and comfort, and one dentist focused entirely on your dental treatment. During your sedation, you might fall asleep, but this level of sedation does not put you to sleep, or "knock you out."
You're on the edge of consciousness and difficult to arouse, even with stimulation. You may need assistance breathing. This level requires significantly more intensive monitoring and is usually reserved for more extensive surgical procedures, such as those provided by oral and maxillofacial surgeons.
Complete unconsciousness — you won't respond even to pain, and you can't reliably breathe on your own. Breathing is fully supported by an anesthesia team. This is typically administered by an anesthesiologist or dental anesthesiologist in a hospital or surgical center, for the most extensive procedures or patients who can't tolerate other sedation levels.
If you have moderate to severe dental anxiety, a strong gag reflex, difficulty getting numb, complex or lengthy treatment, or simply want to be relaxed in a predictable way, you might consider Moderate IV Sedation.
Your treatment is scheduled by your dental office in coordination with Dr. Cunningham. If moderate IV sedation is not available at your dental office, we would be more than happy to make it available. Just mention it to your dentist and have them contact us.
Texas Dental Sedation partners with general and specialty practices across Bryan/College Station to offer in-office moderate IV sedation without adding a provider to your team. We coordinate with you to fit our sedation care into your treatment plans.
If you're interested in offering sedation to your patients, please contact Dr. Cunningham by phone or email.