At The Dental Anesthesia Center, we specialize in sedation and oral surgeries in St. Louis.
If you are having a tooth extracted in St. Louis, The Dental Anesthesia Center is here to help you stay safe and comfortable throughout the entire procedure. Not sure if you should be sedated during your tooth extraction? Here are a few of the top signs that sedation dentistry may be right for you.
Our adult daughter has cerebral palsy and requires being fully sedated when having anything done. The DAC was such a positive experience. Dr Hoffmann and his staff were kind and did great explaining things. As a mom, I had a lot of questions about how certain things would be done as usually she’s in her chair when getting examined at her local dentist and they had everything under control including transferring from her chair to the dentist chair and keeping her secured in the dentist chair as well as keeping her neck and legs comfortable. Many thanks to them!
Response from the owner:Thank you so much for your kind words. We’re grateful for your trust and happy to hear that you had such a positive experience with our team. Our goal is always to provide compassionate, attentive care in a safe and comfortable environment. We truly appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.
TWENTY YEARS! That is how long our special needs son has been seeing Dr Hoffman and his dedicated team! Our son suffers from an intellectual disability, is non-verbal, and is unable to cooperate for dental cleaning, x-rays, or other routine dental work. He requires general anesthesia. It is such a blessing to avoid a hospital setting just for dental work.
The team is always well staffed, friendly, personable and very professional. Every single year we have been supported by a deeply caring team who are dedicated to patients with a very wide range of disabilities and needs. They have shared useful dental advice and tools (3 sided toothbrushes, blocks to hold open their mouth for daily at-home care, etc.) which improved our son’s daily dental care. We always receive a call back the day after to check his recovery-even on weekends!
Highly recommended and so appreciative to have this team supporting our ever long road of raising a special needs son.
Response from the owner:Wow — thank you for sharing such a heartfelt review! We are so grateful for your trust and for allowing our team to be part of your family’s journey over the years. It means so much to us to know that our care and support have made a difference. We truly appreciate your kind words and recommendation!
We've been coming to Dr.Hoffman for twenty years. There's a reason we keep coming back! He's great. His staff is great. He's double boarded as an MD (Anesthesia) and DDS!!! Our son with special needs needs sedation for even a cleaning. You get what you pay for. He's expensive and... we know he's getting the best care!
Response from the owner:Thank you for trusting our team over the years and for your kind words about Dr. Hoffmann and our staff. We truly value your confidence in the care we provide!
Omg!! This place is Amazing! The people who work here are so very nice and understanding. I love this team
Response from the owner:Thank you so much for your kind words! We truly appreciate your support and are grateful to have such wonderful patients.
Searching for a new dental clinic is challenging for someone who has
dental anxiety, fear, and traumatic experiences in a dental chair. The staff and doctors at the Dental Anesthesia Center were immediately very welcoming. Dr. Thoms put together a very detailed plan to repair and replace the previous work that I had in the past that was now causing problems. Putting my faith in him was the best thing that I could have done for my situation. I am more than completely satisfied with all of the extensive dental work that I’ve had with Dr.Thoms. I had my fourth sleep dentistry experience yesterday and I’m very happy with my results. I highly recommend this practice and truly want to give them more than five stars! Thank you for giving me back my health and confidence.
Response from the owner:We know it isn’t always easy to find a dental office where you feel at ease, so your words mean the world to us. We’re so glad you feel comfortable with our team and truly appreciate your trust and recommendation!

A Surgical Tooth Extraction
Basic or “simple” tooth extractions involve simply loosening the tooth in the socket and then pulling it out with special dental tools. Often, this is done with just local numbing.
But surgical extractions are a bit different. They are required when the tooth has not erupted all the way from the gums. For example, if your wisdom teeth have not come all the way out, this type of extraction may be necessary.
In this case, your dentist will need to make an incision into your gums, cut the tooth into pieces, and pull it out bit-by-bit. This type of surgical extraction is more invasive, so sedation is usually recommended to ensure you feel safe and comfortable.
You Have A Strong Gag Reflex
An extreme gag reflex may make it hard to extract rear teeth such as wisdom teeth. With sedation dentistry in St. Louis, though, you can reduce your gag reflex and ensure you feel more comfortable during your treatment.
You’re Afraid Of Needles
About 50 million Americans are scared of needles, such as numbing needles, making this a top 10 phobia in the country. If you really dislike needles, it may be difficult or impossible to numb your mouth. But with sedation dentistry, you can overcome your fear and get the treatment you need.
Worried That Your Treatment Will Be Painful
If you have a low pain tolerance and are nervous because you think that your tooth extraction will hurt, sedation is a great option. For example, laughing gas sedation helps reduce feelings of pain and makes you feel more calm and carefree during your treatment.
You Have Dental Anxiety or Are Scared of The Dentist
Dental anxiety is a prevalent phobia many people have. If you have a serious fear of the dentist, sedation is definitely the best option. With sedation methods like oral conscious sedation, IV sedation, and even general anesthesia available, you can sleep through your entire procedure at The Dental Anesthesia Center – and you won’t remember any part of the process.
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The first two board-certified Dentist Anesthesiologists in the state of Missouri.