Services
Sedation Dentistry
Choose calming nitrous oxide or oral sedation so dental visits feel easier for anxious patients of any age.
Why choose us
Benefits of Sedation Dentistry
Two Comfort Options
We offer nitrous oxide for light, quick-wearing relaxation and oral sedation for deeper calm during longer visits.
Eases Dental Anxiety
If nerves or past experiences have kept you away, sedation helps you settle in and get the care you need.
Nitrous Oxide Flexibility
Nitrous oxide is breathed through a small mask, wears off quickly, and suits both children and adults with mild nervousness.
Oral Sedation Comfort
Oral sedation is taken as a prescribed medication before your visit and suits longer procedures or stronger anxiety, so you'll need a ride home.
Care Under One Roof
From cleanings and fillings to implants, extractions, and root canals, we can pair sedation with the treatment you're already having here.
If the thought of sitting in a dental chair makes your stomach tighten — or if you've put off a cleaning, a filling, or a long-overdue extraction for years because of it — you're in good company. Dental anxiety is one of the most common reasons people delay care, and in our Ocala office we see it in patients of every age: the adult who had a rough experience as a child, the parent who can't sit still for a crown, the person with a strong gag reflex who dreads impressions. Sedation dentistry exists so that none of those reasons has to stand between you and a healthy mouth.
Sedation dentistry means using medication to help you feel calm, comfortable, and relaxed during dental treatment. It isn't a procedure on its own — it's a layer of comfort we add to the care you already need, whether that's a simple filling, a root canal, gum treatment, or implant surgery. Local anesthesia still handles the numbing; sedation handles the nerves, the restlessness, and the sense of time dragging.
We offer two options at Ocala Dental Care: nitrous oxide and oral sedation. Nitrous oxide, often called laughing gas, is a mild gas you breathe through a small nose mask. It takes effect within minutes, leaves you awake and able to talk with us the whole time, and wears off almost as quickly once the mask comes off. Oral sedation involves taking a prescribed medication before your appointment. It produces a deeper, longer-lasting sense of calm — many patients remember very little of the visit — and is a good fit for longer or more involved treatment.
Choosing between the two usually comes down to how much anxiety you feel and how long the appointment will be. Nitrous oxide suits patients with mild to moderate nervousness, children who need help holding still, and anyone who wants to drive themselves home afterward and return to work or school the same day. Oral sedation tends to be the better choice for significant dental fear, multiple procedures combined into one visit, surgical extractions or wisdom teeth, implant placement, or full mouth reconstruction — the kinds of appointments where sitting comfortably for an extended period matters.
Sedation can also help when anxiety isn't the main issue at all. A sensitive gag reflex, difficulty staying still, jaw discomfort that makes holding your mouth open tiring, or simply wanting to consolidate several visits into one are all legitimate reasons to ask about it. Because we treat patients of all ages and handle general, restorative, cosmetic, endodontic, periodontal, and surgical care under one roof, sedation can be paired with nearly any treatment we provide.
What Candidates Should Know Before the Appointment
Before we recommend either option, Dr. Hussein Salifu or Dr. Marco Geris will review your full health history, current medications, allergies, and any past experiences with sedation or anesthesia. That conversation matters — certain medical conditions and medications affect which option is appropriate, and we'd rather spend a few extra minutes talking it through than make assumptions.
Here is what we'll cover together when planning your visit:
- Your medical history, medications, and any previous reactions to sedation or dental anesthetic
- Which option fits the treatment planned and your comfort level
- Specific instructions about eating, drinking, and taking medications beforehand
- Whether you'll need a responsible adult to drive you to and from the appointment
- What the rest of your day should look like after you leave
With oral sedation in particular, arranging a ride is non-negotiable, and we ask that you plan a quiet day afterward rather than returning to work or driving.
Aftercare and What to Expect Afterward
Recovery looks very different depending on which option you choose. After nitrous oxide, we give you a few minutes of pure oxygen and most patients feel completely normal before they leave the chair. After oral sedation, grogginess can linger for several hours, so rest, hydration, and letting someone else handle driving are the priorities for the remainder of the day.
Any aftercare instructions tied to the dental work itself — a new crown, an extraction site, gum treatment — still apply and we'll send those home with you in writing. The lasting result of sedation isn't clinical so much as personal: appointments become something you can get through, which often means patients who once avoided the dentist start showing up for routine cleanings and exams again.
Insurance, Payment, and Scheduling
We accept all major PPO insurance plans and welcome self-pay patients, and our team files insurance claims as a general practice across the services we provide. For treatment that extends beyond a single visit, we offer flexible payment plans so cost doesn't become another reason to postpone care.
For more than 30 years, our office has cared for families throughout Ocala, Belleview, Silver Springs, The Villages, Dunnellon, Summerfield, Lady Lake, and the surrounding Marion County communities. If anxiety has kept you away, call us and tell us that — it's exactly the kind of conversation we're glad to start with.
The process
What to expect
- 1
Consultation And Review
We talk through your anxiety, health history, and medications to decide whether nitrous oxide or oral sedation fits you best.
- 2
Relaxed Treatment Visit
Your sedation is started before we begin, and our team monitors your comfort throughout the appointment.
- 3
Recovery And Follow-Up
Nitrous oxide patients usually feel normal quickly, while oral sedation patients rest with an escort home and clear aftercare instructions.