Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 10/23/2009

Question
Hi Dr. Levy,

I am having some major dental work done in the upcoming weeks.  I have major anxiety about the dentist due to some bad experiences as a child (hence all the dental work I need now).  I am having 2 root canals at an endodontist who is going to give me Halcion.  Also, I am having an extraction and some crowns with a general dentist who is going to give me Ativan.  I have tried doing some research on the Internet, but everything I see says these are sleeping aides.  Are they commonly used for sedation dentistry?  Do they make you "forget" what happened in the dentist chair?  D0 they relieve anxiety?  Are Halcion and Ativan similar?  Can I expect the experiences to be about the same with the two drugs?  I am hoping I have found the answer to my dental phobia, but I would like to know what to expect.  Thank you for your time!

Answer
I have not heard of either being used for dental surgery (which is not to say that they aren't, I just haven't heard of it). Ativan is the tradename for Lorazepam (which is like Valium) and is an anxiolytic. Halcion is Triazolam also an anxiolytic but more often used for sleep. Both drugs will certainly sedate you and have some amnestic properties but they tend to be longer acting than some of the other drugs. More often dentists use Versed for sedation which is short acting. I would make sure that both dentists are qualified to perform sedation anesthesia.

Ronald Levy, MD
Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston