Dental knowledge: what you should know about anaesthesia

Gentle anaesthetic techniques mean that examinations and treatments can now be carried out free of pain. Sensitive or anxious patients want to be aware of as little as possible during complex and lengthy dental work, major restorations or implant placement, and therefore ask about anaesthesia.

Practices that offer general anaesthesia have suitably equipped anaesthetic facilities and treatment rooms. The form of pain control can range from local anaesthesia through sedation and twilight sleep to full general anaesthesia, matched precisely to the procedure and to the individual patient's sensitivity to pain. Thanks to modern anaesthetic techniques, even anxious patients can undergo necessary treatment free of stress and fear.

Specially trained anaesthetists provide the greatest possible safety during procedures under anaesthesia. Where patients are treated under general anaesthesia, an anaesthetist looks after them during the procedure and while they come round. The anaesthetist induces the anaesthesia and monitors the patient's bodily functions – heartbeat, breathing, blood pressure – continuously. Patients also have to be cared for in special recovery rooms while they wake up, with their vital functions constantly monitored. Thanks to new medicines and modern equipment that allows exact dosing, precise anaesthesia can be carried out safely and reliably.

In a detailed consultation, the patient, the treating dentist and – where general anaesthesia is involved – the anaesthetist decide which form of pain control is right for that patient. Practitioners deal with anxious patients sensitively and with empathy. Procedures on patients with risk factors are carried out with circulatory observation and professional, continuous monitoring.