The technique involves the injection of small amounts of sedative into a vein in the arm. The injection is painless, and the sedative quickly takes effect. Local anaesthetic injections are often necessary, but these will not cause any discomfort. Due to the amnesia (forgetfulness) produced by the sedative agents, it will seem as though you have been asleep for most of the treatment.
However, you have merely been sedated — not unconscious in the way you would be under general anaesthesia. Upon completion of the treatment, you rest for a short while before being escorted home. While you may feel quite alert after the treatment, the sedative agents are not completely eliminated from your body for some hours afterwards, thus eliciting the need for an escort home.
Your dentist will provide you with detailed pre- and post-operative instructions. Please have full regard for these instructions. Intravenous sedation is a very pleasant way of enabling dental treatment to be carried out. Your dentist will be pleased to explain it to you.