Why is the IV passed in the clear when it can be easily encrypted?

Is there a difference between UK IV sedation and US IV sedation? What drugs are used?

• Hi there so I'm from the UK but am staying in the US with friends. Unfortunately I developed a bad abscess on my upper right wisdom tooth and have scheduled an appointment to have the two upper ones extracted in the US by an oral surgeon on Tuesday. I know it's expensive but I'm in so much pain and really do not have time to go back to the UK and try to scheduled there. I was happy when they offered IV sedation because I've had it in the UK before and it was great. My main fear though is actually of allergic reactions to drugs, I've never had one myself by a close friend of mine passed away from one which makes me overly paranoid of the chances. I've had both general and IV sedation with no problems or complications in the UK. Unfortunately my oral surgeon scared me on two fronts, he told me they probably use an entirely different drug in the US, and that he himself will be administering the anesthesia. (When I was in the UK I was in a hospital and had a separate anesthesiologist handling the sedation, while allowing the surgeon to do his work) What kinds of drugs do they use in US sedation? Do they use multiple drugs vs one in the sedation? Do they have different effects from those used in the UK? Will I have a chance of an allergic reaction to these drugs? How common is this? I have no other allergies to drugs aside from erythromycin that I know of. Also Is it normal for the dentist to also act as the anesthesiologist? Thanks! Any advice/reassurance before Tuesday would be really appreciated as i've quite worked myself up into a state of unnecessary fear

• Answer:

  You'll probably do fine, because young, healthy people are hard to kill. Personally, I'd never let myself or anyone I love be anesthetized by an oral surgeon. They do not follow the same safety standards that anesthesiologists (anaesthetists) do. They do not have much training in resuscitation if something should go wrong. I prefer to have someone who can rely on training, as opposed to luck, take care of me. Allergic reactions are not the problem. Airway and breathing problems, heart rhythm abnormalities, and that sort of thing are much more likely. Again, young healthy people don't usually have these problems, but they can occur in anybody. It's not a reassuring answer for you, but it's an honest one.