Anesthesia in Boston

Lucca Oral & Facial Surgery is committed to patient safety in anesthesia care. Our state-of-the-art facility is licensed to provide office based ambulatory anesthesia by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Dentistry and is Certified by the Massachusetts Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.

Our staff invest in diverse continuing education and performance improvement programs in anesthesia and receive advanced High Fidelity Human Simulator (SIM MAN) training in anesthesia techniques and emergency management annually. Our assistants are enrolled in the intensive Dental Anesthesia Assistant National Certification (DAANCE) program where they receive certification by the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.

As Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, our doctors have trained with anesthesiologists during their hospital-based residency programs, distinguishing their education from all other surgical specialties and making our doctors uniquely qualified to administer in-office ambulatory anesthesia services. Our doctors are certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), are members of the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology, and participate with the American Society of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons Office Based Emergency Airway Management (OBEAM) program.

Our doctors are licensed by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Dentistry to provide a full range of anesthesia care including: Local Anesthesia, Nitrous Oxide, Minimal, Moderate, and Deep Sedation, and General Anesthesia. Our anesthesia services are customized to meet the needs of each individual patient.

Local Anesthesia (“Novocaine”) will produce a numb feeling in the area being operated on and you will be aware of a feeling of pressure during surgery. You will be awake and recall the surgery, but there should be no significant discomfort. Local Anesthesia can be used alone, and is also used in combination with Nitrous Oxide, IV Sedation and General Anesthesia to ensure a pain-free experience after your surgery.

Nitrous oxide, sometimes referred to as “laughing gas,” is an effective and safe sedation agent that is inhaled through a mask that fits over your nose to help you relax. Mixed with oxygen, nitrous oxide allows you to breathe normally through your nose and within minutes you should start to feel the effects. You may feel light-headed or a tingling in your arms and legs. Some patient’s comment that their legs and arms feel heavy. Ultimately, you should feel comfortable and calm. The effects of nitrous oxide wear off quickly after the small mask is removed. Talk to the doctor about whether nitrous oxide would be a good option for you.

Procedures that are performed with the assistance of sedation are psychologically less traumatic for patients who will experience profound relaxation and reduced consciousness. Patients often have no memory of the procedure although they remain responsive throughout their care. Anesthetic medications are administered intravenously (through an I.V.) and make patients feel relaxed, often relaxed enough that they fall asleep. Patients that are sedated are continuously monitored with a pulse oximeter, blood pressure cuff, an EKG, and capnography throughout the procedure.

General anesthesia is a medically induced state of unconsciousness that feels like a deep sleep. Patients remain un-arousable throughout the procedure. Anesthetic medications are administered intravenously (through an I.V.) and inhalational medication (inhaled through a mask) may also be administered. General anesthesia may also be performed with the aid of an airway supportive device such as a Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) or an endotracheal tube (ET Tube), placed after you are asleep, to help you breathe safely during the procedure. Patients receiving general anesthesia are continuously monitored with a pulse oximeter, blood pressure cuff, an EKG, and capnography throughout the procedure.

* Anesthesia definitions are a useful guide, but remember, anesthesia is a continuum and it is not always possible to predict how an individual patient will respond. The definitions and stages of anesthesia often blend and overlap one another. It is possible, for example, for some patients to drift to or from levels of minimal sedation into and out of deep sedation and/or from deep sedation into general anesthesia and back again. Individual experiences and levels of awareness can vary.