Real comfort. Real expertise. The complete dental care you've been putting off is finally manageable with sedation dentistry.
If anxiety, a strong gag reflex, past dental trauma, or just dread has kept you from the dentist, you're not alone — and you're not stuck. Elite Dental Studio provides comprehensive sedation dentistry in Kirkland including IV sedation delivered in our office by a dedicated, board-certified anesthesia team. Whether you need a single procedure or want to combine years of delayed care into one comfortable visit, sedation makes it possible.
Sedation dentistry is the use of safe, controlled medication to help patients stay comfortable, calm, and largely unaware during dental procedures. Depending on the level chosen, you may feel lightly relaxed, deeply at ease, or sleep through the entire visit with no memory of the procedure afterward.
Sedation isn't only for dental surgery - it's used for cleanings, fillings, crowns, implants, full mouth restorations, root canals, and any procedure where comfort matters. For patients with significant anxiety or specific clinical challenges (gag reflex, anesthesia resistance, sensory sensitivities), sedation is often the difference between getting care and continuing to put it off. Learn more about how dental sedation works.
We offer three levels of sedation, each suited to different situations and patient comfort needs. Read on to compare all levels of dental sedation.
A mild, fast-acting gas inhaled through a small nose mask. You remain fully awake and aware but feel pleasantly relaxed and less anxious. Effects wear off within minutes of removing the mask and most patients drive themselves home after the appointment.
Best for: mild anxiety, routine procedures, patients who want quick recovery and the ability to drive themselves.
A prescription pill taken before your appointment that produces moderate relaxation and often hazy memory of the procedure. You remain technically conscious but deeply at ease - most patients describe it as feeling drowsy and unbothered.
Best for: moderate anxiety, longer routine procedures, patients who want more than nitrous offers without needing IV sedation.
Sedative medication delivered through an IV by a board-certified anesthesia provider. You drift off within a minute or two, sleep comfortably through the procedure, and wake up with little or no memory of the visit. The depth is adjusted continuously based on the procedure and your responses.
At Elite Dental Studio, IV sedation is provided by Elite Anesthesia - a trusted traveling anesthesia group based in Seattle whose team of board-certified anesthesiologists and CRNAs specialize in mobile dental anesthesia. This partnership lets us deliver hospital-level sedation safely in our familiar Kirkland office, without sending you to a surgical center.
Best for: severe dental anxiety, past dental trauma, strong gag reflex, anesthesia resistance, complex or lengthy procedures, and combining multiple procedures into one comfortable visit.
Sedation dentistry can help almost any patient who finds dental visits stressful, uncomfortable, or impractical. Common situations we see daily:
IV sedation is especially helpful for patients needing extensive restorative work or those who prefer to complete treatment in one relaxed visit.
Not every dental office offering sedation does it the same way. A few specific things matter and they're what differentiate the safest, most experienced sedation practices from the rest.
A Dedicated Anesthesia Team
Many dental offices have the dentist administer sedation while also performing the procedure. We don't. IV sedation in our office is provided by a separate, board-certified anesthesia provider from Elite Anesthesia - whose only role during your visit is monitoring you and managing your sedation. Our dentist focuses entirely on the dental work. Two clinicians, two roles, undivided attention to both.
Hospital-Grade Safety in a Familiar Setting
Our partnership with Elite Anesthesia brings surgical-center-grade monitoring equipment, medications, and protocols into our dental office. You get the safety standard of a hospital procedure without the disruption of a hospital visit - same familiar office, same team, same parking lot.
Comprehensive Care Under One Roof
Because we're set up for sedation in-house, we can complete extensive work in a single visit — cleanings, fillings, crowns, root canals, dental implants, full mouth restoration, and more. For patients who've been avoiding care, this is often the most efficient path to getting fully caught up.
20+ Years Serving Kirkland
Elite Dental Studio has been a trusted dental home in Kirkland and the greater Eastside for more than two decades. We've built our sedation program around what actually makes patients comfortable, both clinically and personally.
If you've never had sedation dentistry before, here's a brief overview. If you have additional questions, don't hesitate to give us a call and speak with a member of our friendly team.
Before the Visit
Pre-sedation consultation and medical screening with the anesthesia team
The Day Of
Recovery
Is Sedation Dentistry Safe?
Yes - when administered by qualified clinicians with proper monitoring, IV sedation has a strong safety record studied for decades. What separates safer sedation offices from riskier ones isn't the medication itself; it's the team, the screening, and the monitoring.
What makes sedation safe in our office:
How Much Does Sedation Dentistry Cost?
Sedation dentistry ranges from around $200 for a brief nitrous oxide visit to $1,500 or more for several hours of IV sedation by our dedicated anesthesia team. The exact cost depends on the type of sedation and the length of the procedure.
A few important notes on cost:
With IV sedation, yes — most patients sleep comfortably through the procedure with no memory of it afterward. With oral sedation, you'll be drowsy but technically conscious. With nitrous oxide, you'll stay fully awake but deeply relaxed.
Yes. IV sedation is administered in our Kirkland dental office by Elite Anesthesia - a trusted Seattle-based traveling anesthesia group whose team of board-certified anesthesiologists and CRNAs come to us. You receive hospital-level sedation in a familiar setting, without traveling to a surgical center.
Most adults in reasonable health are candidates. Sedation is especially helpful for patients with dental anxiety, a severe gag reflex, past dental trauma, anesthesia resistance, complex medical histories that make sitting still difficult, or anyone wanting to combine multiple procedures into one visit. A pre-sedation medical screening confirms whether IV sedation is appropriate for your situation.
Most patients have little to no memory of the procedure under IV sedation. The medications used (particularly midazolam) reliably produce amnesia for the sedated period. Some patients have faint, dreamlike fragments; most remember nothing at all.
The procedure itself can range from 30 minutes to several hours. With IV sedation, you're typically alert enough to leave the office within 30 to 60 minutes of the work being finished. Full mental clarity returns over the rest of the day. Most patients are back to normal activities by the following morning.
Yes for oral sedation and IV sedation. A responsible adult who knows you must drive you home and ideally stay with you for several hours after. Rideshare drivers are not acceptable. For nitrous oxide alone, no driver is needed.
Sometimes. Many PPO plans cover IV sedation when medical necessity is documented - for example, severe anxiety, anesthesia resistance, or a strong gag reflex. Elective sedation for routine procedures is less commonly covered. Our office verifies benefits before scheduling and provides a written estimate of any out-of-pocket cost.
Our sedation services are primarily for adult patients. Families with pediatric sedation needs are best served by a board-certified pediatric dentist with specific pediatric sedation training.
Nearly all of them. We perform routine cleanings, fillings, crowns, root canals, extractions, dental implants, veneers, and full mouth restorations under sedation. For patients with significant accumulated work, we often combine multiple procedures into a single sedated visit.
Schedule a consultation. We'll talk through your concerns, your medical history, and what kind of work you need done. There's no pressure to commit to anything at the consultation - the goal is to understand what would work for you. Book online or call us at (425) 823-6820.
If you've been putting off dental care because of anxiety, a difficult medical history, or just because the idea of the chair feels overwhelming, there's a different way. Elite Dental Studio has helped Kirkland and Eastside patients get the dental care they actually need, comfortably, for over 20 years.
With sedation dentistry, you can rest easy knowing your comfort comes first. Call our Kirkland office today or schedule an appointment online to learn more about how IV sedation can make your next visit truly stress-free.
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