You've been putting off dental work for a while — maybe years. Now you're facing a list of things that need to happen: fillings, extractions, a crown, maybe an implant. Multiple appointments over multiple months. Time off work. Repeated injections. The anxiety building each time you walk through the door.
And then a thought occurs to you: can you get all your dental work done at once?
The answer, for many patients, is yes. Sedation dentistry makes it possible to accomplish in one or two extended appointments what would traditionally require four, five, or more separate visits. It's not the right approach for every case, but for a surprising number of patients, getting all dental work done at once is not only possible — it's the better option.
How Full-Day Dental Appointments Work
A traditional dental appointment lasts 30 to 60 minutes. Your dentist works on one area, you go home, you come back in two weeks for the next thing. This approach exists partly because of scheduling logistics and partly because most patients can only tolerate so much dental work in one sitting.
Sedation changes that.
Under IV sedation, you're in a deep twilight state. You're not watching the clock. You're not tensing up. You're not accumulating fatigue and anxiety as the appointment stretches on. Time compresses — patients routinely describe a 4-hour appointment as feeling like 20 minutes.
This allows your dentist to work efficiently on multiple areas in a single session without the stop-and-start of conscious patient discomfort. Procedures that would normally be spread across months can be consolidated into one or two comprehensive appointments.
What Can Be Done in a Single Visit
The range of work that can be completed in one sedation appointment is broader than most patients expect:
Multiple fillings across different areas of the mouth. Without sedation, this would mean several separate appointments with individual anesthetic injections each time. Under sedation, all of them can be done at once.
Extractions combined with other procedures. A tooth that needs to come out can be removed in the same appointment as adjacent fillings, crowns, or implant placement.
Crown preparations. Multiple teeth can be prepared for crowns in one visit. With same-day milling technology, some crowns can be placed the same day.
Implant placement. One or more dental implants can be placed in a single appointment. For patients who also need extractions at the same sites, the extraction and implant can happen together — a technique called immediate implant placement.
Deep cleanings. Patients with periodontal disease often need scaling and root planing, which is traditionally done one quadrant at a time over four appointments. Under sedation, the entire mouth can be cleaned in one visit.
Combination treatments. A typical full-day sedation appointment might include extracting two teeth, placing three fillings, preparing two crowns, and performing a deep cleaning — all in one session.
Who Benefits Most From Getting All Dental Work Done at Once
Not every patient needs or wants a marathon appointment. But several groups benefit significantly:
Patients with dental anxiety. Every separate appointment is a separate episode of anxiety — the night before, the drive there, the waiting room, the anticipation. Consolidating treatment into fewer visits means fewer anxiety episodes. For many patients, this is the single biggest benefit.
People who haven't been to the dentist in years. When someone comes in after a 5, 10, or 15-year gap, the treatment list is usually long. Spreading that across 8-10 traditional appointments is demoralizing. Completing the majority of the work in one or two sedation visits transforms the experience from a long ordeal into a defined event with a clear endpoint.
Working professionals with limited schedule flexibility. Taking one day off work is more manageable than taking a half-day every other week for three months.
Parents and caregivers who struggle to arrange childcare or time away from responsibilities. Fewer appointments means less logistical burden.
Patients who travel for care. Some patients come to Sedation & Implants from outside the immediate Groton area specifically because of the sedation options. Consolidating treatment reduces the number of trips.
What Determines How Much Work Can Be Done
Several factors influence how much your dentist can accomplish in a single appointment:
The types of procedures. Some procedures take longer than others. A simple filling might take 15 minutes. An implant placement might take 45 minutes. Your dentist plans the appointment duration based on the specific work needed.
Your medical health. Longer sedation sessions require the patient to be in adequate health to tolerate extended time under sedation. Your medical history is reviewed carefully during the consultation.
Healing considerations. Some procedures benefit from being staged — for example, if bone grafting is needed before implant placement, there's a healing period in between that can't be compressed.
Complexity and access. Work on the upper right and lower left can often be done simultaneously, but some combinations of procedures make ergonomic sense to separate.
Sedation duration. IV sedation appointments at our practice typically range from 2 to 6 hours, depending on the treatment plan. This is a comfortable duration for most patients.
Dr. Ruslan Maidans, DDS, FAGD, FDIA, designs each consolidated treatment plan individually. During your free consultation, he'll tell you specifically what can be accomplished in one visit and what, if anything, needs to be staged.
The Sedation Experience During a Full-Day Appointment
If you've never experienced IV sedation, here's what a full-day appointment looks like:
Before. You arrive with your ride (you cannot drive after IV sedation). You've followed the pre-appointment instructions — typically no food or drink for several hours before. You're brought to the treatment room.
IV placement. A small catheter is placed in your hand or arm. Most patients say this is the least comfortable part — and it takes about 10 seconds.
Sedation begins. Medication flows through the IV. Within seconds, you feel profoundly relaxed. The room softens. Anxiety dissolves. You drift into a deep twilight state.
During. Your dentist works while you rest. You are monitored continuously — blood oxygen, breathing, heart rate, blood pressure. If the sedation needs to be deeper or lighter, adjustments happen in real time through the IV. You are not aware of the work being performed.
Coming to. When the work is complete, the sedation medications are stopped. You come to awareness gradually. Most patients describe it as feeling like only minutes passed. You may be surprised to learn that hours of work are done.
Recovery. You spend a short time in recovery, then your ride takes you home. You'll feel drowsy for the rest of the day. By the next morning, most patients feel normal — and the dental work that had been hanging over their head for years is done.
How This Compares to Traditional Multiple Visits
Consider a patient who needs four fillings, two extractions, and a crown:
Traditional approach: 5-6 separate appointments over 2-3 months. Each appointment involves a new injection of local anesthetic, new anxiety, time off work, and the lingering knowledge that you have to come back again.
Sedation approach: One appointment, approximately 3-4 hours. One sedation session. One recovery day. Done.
The clinical outcomes are the same. The materials are the same. The quality of work is the same. The difference is the patient experience — and for many patients, that difference is the reason they finally get the care they've been avoiding.
Cost Considerations for All Dental Work Done at Once
Getting all your dental work done at once doesn't necessarily cost more or less than doing it over multiple visits. The individual procedure costs are the same. The difference is that you add the cost of IV sedation (typically $500 to $1,200 per session) while potentially reducing the number of sedation fees, separate office visits, and time away from work.
Many patients find the consolidated approach more cost-effective overall when they factor in fewer copays, less missed work, and the reduced likelihood of abandoning a treatment plan midway through due to appointment fatigue.
Insurance, HSA/FSA accounts, and financing plans all apply the same way they would for traditional scheduling.
Is This Approach Right for You?
Getting all dental work done at once is a good fit if:
- You have multiple procedures on your treatment plan
- Dental anxiety makes repeated visits difficult
- Your schedule makes frequent appointments impractical
- You want the psychological relief of completing everything in a defined timeframe
- You're in adequate health for an extended sedation session
It may not be the right fit if your treatment requires staged healing (like bone grafting before implants), if medical conditions limit sedation duration, or if your treatment needs are simple enough that a single standard appointment handles everything.
The consultation is where this gets sorted out.
Take the First Step
At Sedation & Implants in Groton, CT, your consultation is free. Dr. Ruslan Maidans will review your treatment needs, explain what can be accomplished in a single sedation visit, and design a plan that works for your situation — with zero pressure.
Call (860) 445-1330 or visit sedationimplants.com to schedule your free consultation. If getting all your dental work done at once is possible for you, you'll leave the consultation knowing exactly what that looks like.