Patient resources

A little more support.

Read at your own pace, prepare questions, or make a checklist. These resources do not replace your care team’s instructions.

Before, during, and after.

Your health history and planned dental treatment are reviewed before your care is confirmed.

  • Your dental team performs the dental treatment. Your anesthesia clinician manages the anesthesia care.
  • You will receive instructions for your appointment and have an opportunity to ask questions.
  • Recovery is assessed before you leave. Follow the discharge instructions given to you.
Prepare questions for your care team

Preparing for your child’s care.

Start with the instructions from your child’s care team. Ask who to contact if you have a question or if your child becomes unwell.

  • Ask the team to explain how to prepare your child and what will happen on the day.
  • Discuss communication, comfort, or support needs with the team before the appointment.
  • Follow the instructions about eating, drinking, medicines, travel, and support after treatment.
Prepare questions for your care team

Support that starts with listening.

Tell the care team about communication and support needs before the appointment, using the approved intake process.

  • Discuss how the person communicates discomfort, preferences, and questions.
  • Ask about accessibility, transfers, a support person, and any preparation needs.
  • Clarify consent and decision-making arrangements with the clinical team.
  • Ask what support will be needed after treatment.
Prepare questions for your care team

Follow your own preparation instructions.

The instructions issued for your appointment take priority over general website information.

  • Ask for the exact eating and drinking instructions that apply to you.
  • Ask which medicines to take or change. Do not change a medicine based on this website.
  • Tell the team if your health, medicines, or appointment circumstances change.
  • Confirm the arrangements for travel and support after treatment.
Prepare questions for your care team

Know where to go and who to ask.

Confirm your arrival details with the care team before the appointment.

  • Bring the information the team has requested through the approved process.
  • Tell the team about any changes since your assessment.
  • Your dentist performs the dental treatment while the anesthesia clinician manages anesthesia care.
  • Ask how the person supporting you will receive updates and discharge instructions.
Prepare questions for your care team

The next steps after treatment.

Your team assesses recovery before discharge and provides instructions for what comes next.

  • Follow your own discharge instructions, including any restrictions and support arrangements.
  • Ask whom to contact about questions after treatment.
  • If something is unclear, ask before leaving.
  • For a medical emergency, use emergency services rather than this website.
Prepare questions for your care team

Clarify costs before the appointment.

Ask the team to explain the dental and anesthesia charges separately.

  • Confirm what the fees include and how payment is arranged.
  • Ask about any cancellation terms.
  • Ask the appropriate team about insurance or reimbursement; this website does not confirm coverage.
  • Request clarification before agreeing to the treatment arrangements.
Prepare questions for your care team

Optional tools

Use what is helpful.

Open only what is useful to you. These tools do not replace your care team’s instructions.

Understand sedation and general anesthesia

Different levels of awareness.

The level describes how deeply awareness is reduced, not simply how medicine is given. Your anesthesia clinician assesses your health and planned treatment and discusses the approach with you.

Moderate sedation
You can respond purposefully when spoken to, sometimes with a light touch. Breathing is generally maintained without assistance.
Deep sedation
You are not easily awakened, but may respond to repeated or stronger stimulation. You may need help keeping your airway open or breathing adequately.
General anesthesia
You are unconscious and do not respond even to painful stimulation. Breathing often requires assistance.

These levels form a continuum, and responses can vary. This explanation does not select a level or determine whether a treatment setting is suitable for you.

Definitions summarized from the American Dental Association’s sedation and general anesthesia guidelines. Ask your clinician how they apply to your care.

Make a preparation-question checklist

Plan your appointment

Your questions.
Your next steps.

This tool creates a printable planning checklist, not a booking or medical plan. It does not calculate fasting times or medication changes.

Answers remain in this page only and are cleared on reload. Do not enter names, diagnoses, or health records.

Planning support only, not clinical instructions. Do not enter patient names, diagnoses, or health records.

Prepare questions for your care team

Questions for your care team

Bring the question
to your care team.

Create a short summary to take to your care team. Nothing is sent to Aspire or your dental office.

Read common questions about dental anesthesia →

Planning support only, not clinical instructions. Do not enter patient names, diagnoses, or health records.

Look up an unfamiliar term

A–Z reference

Words you may hear.

Airway
The passage used for breathing.
Anesthesia
Care used to manage awareness, sensation, or both during a procedure. Ask your clinician about your own plan.
ASA physical status
A classification clinicians use to describe a patient’s health before anesthesia. It does not determine a care plan on its own.
Care setting
The place where treatment is provided, such as a dental office or hospital.
Caregiver
A person who helps someone prepare for or recover from care.
Discharge
The point when the team assesses that you may leave with the agreed instructions and support.
General anesthesia
An anesthesia approach in which you are unconscious. Your clinical team determines whether it is appropriate.
Handoff
When one member of the care team passes important care information and responsibilities to another.
Local anesthesia
Medicine used to numb an area for treatment.
Monitoring
Watching and measuring how your body responds during care.
Preparation
The steps your care team asks you to follow before an appointment.
Recovery
The period of assessment and care after treatment.
Sedation
Medication used to change the level of awareness. The approach must be decided by the clinical team.
Shared airway
The breathing area in which the dental and anesthesia teams coordinate their work.
Treatment plan
The dental care proposed by your treating dentist.
Workup
The health review, examinations, or tests needed to help plan care.

Plain-language orientation only. Ask your clinician how a term applies to your own care.

Ask about costs before treatment

Know whom to ask about fees.

Ask Aspire about anesthesia fees and your dental team about dental treatment fees. Before treatment, ask what each estimate includes, who will send each bill, and whom to contact with questions.

Contact Aspire →

Printable guide

Questions to take with you.

For discussion with your care team, not personalized clinical instructions.

Open the HTML guide to read, print or save it. Clinical approval is required before public release.

Questions about your appointment?