Sedation is not general anaesthesia. You stay awake, you can respond — you simply stop caring that you are in a dental chair.
Local anaesthesia numbs the area only. Conscious sedation adds a drug that relaxes you and blurs memory of the appointment. General anaesthesia puts you fully under and requires an anaesthetist and hospital setting — which we have, but rarely need for dentistry.
Most patients describe it as being pleasantly disconnected: aware of movement, not of time. You can answer questions, but you will remember little afterwards. Recovery takes an hour, and you cannot drive or fly the same day.
Avoiding dentistry for a decade because of fear costs teeth. Patients who complete treatment under sedation often return for routine care without it, because the association with pain has been broken.
Dental phobia is common and not embarrassing. Say it at the first message — appointment length, explanation style and sedation planning all change when we know.
No. Plan at least one overnight stay after conscious sedation.