IV Sedation: How It Feels
For anxious patients and longer procedures: what IV sedation is, what the appointment is like, and the rules for the day after.
What Is It Like to Have IV Sedation for Dental Treatment?
IV sedation leaves you deeply calm and drowsy but still able to respond, and afterwards most people recall very little of their treatment. The sedative goes in through a small cannula in your hand or arm while a team keeps a constant watch on your breathing, pulse and oxygen. You stay conscious; this is not a general anaesthetic. At Peninsula Dentists on Greenwich Peninsula, IV sedation is provided by oral surgeon Dr Imran Riaz and costs £500 per session, plus £250 for every further half-hour, in addition to your treatment.
How Sedation Feels
A minute or two after the sedative starts, a wave of calm sets in. Your body feels heavy, your worries seem far away, and the sensation is close to that drowsy moment just before you fall asleep. You remain conscious enough to answer us and to open a little wider when asked, but the anxiety lifts and time seems to pass very quickly. Afterwards, most people remember only fragments and are surprised to find it's all finished. Unlike a general anaesthetic, you breathe for yourself throughout and you are never put to sleep.
How Dr Riaz Gives It
A small cannula is placed in a vein on the back of your hand or in your arm. That's the only sharp moment, and it lasts a few seconds. Dr Imran Riaz, our oral surgeon, then gives the sedative gradually until you're comfortably relaxed and tops it up as the appointment goes on. A trained team monitors your breathing, heart rate and oxygen levels the whole time. The area being treated is numbed with local anaesthetic in the normal way, so you're pain-free as well as calm.
Wondering If Sedation Is Right for You?
Book a sedation assessment with Dr Riaz and talk it through before any treatment is planned.
Who Benefits
- Anyone with dental anxiety, from mild apprehension to deep-rooted fear, including people who haven't been near a dentist for years
- Long or complex procedures such as implant placement, full-arch implants or surgical wisdom tooth removal, where staying settled for an hour or two makes a real difference
- People with a strong gag reflex that makes work on the back teeth difficult
- Patients who would rather have several treatments in one longer visit than over many short ones
Sedation always works together with local anaesthetic and never replaces it. Routine visits, such as a dental examination, a clean with the hygienist or a small filling, rarely call for it, and we'll say so.
When We'd Suggest Something Else
Dr Riaz reviews your medical history at your assessment before anything is booked. Pregnancy or breastfeeding, certain health conditions and medicines, and having nobody to take you home are the most common reasons we'd choose a different approach, such as shorter appointments with regular breaks.
Getting Ready
- Have a light meal two hours or so beforehand, unless we've told you otherwise; arriving hungry isn't a good idea
- Keep taking your regular medicines unless we've advised you to change anything
- Arrange for a responsible adult to come with you, stay nearby and take you home in a car or taxi rather than on the Jubilee line or a bus
- Wear loose sleeves that roll up easily
- Take off nail varnish from at least one finger, as the oxygen sensor clips onto a fingertip
- Avoid alcohol the night before, and check with us about drinking anything in the hours beforehand
After Your Appointment
You'll rest with us until you can walk steadily, then go home with your escort for a quiet afternoon. Until 24 hours have passed, avoid driving, alcohol, machinery, sole charge of young children and signing anything important: the sedative clouds your judgement for longer than you'll feel its effects. By the next morning most people feel themselves again, and you'll go home with written aftercare advice and a number to call.
What It Costs
Each session of IV sedation costs £500, and every further 30 minutes adds £250, on top of your treatment fee.2 Few practices around Greenwich and SE London that we checked in October 2026 publish a sedation fee at all, so you know where you stand before you commit. If your total treatment, including sedation, comes to £1,500 or more, Chrysalis Finance lets you pay monthly, subject to status. Our sedation page has more, while approaches that avoid sedation altogether are in our dental anxiety guide.
Questions
This guide explains the options in general terms. Only an examination can tell you which of them suits your own teeth.