An
"awake patient" refers to someone who is not asleep or unconscious but is fully conscious and aware of their surroundings.
Full definition
This technique is well tolerated
in awake patients most likely since the light intensity used is often well below that which is used in standard indirect ophthalmoscopy.»
Hand - held scalers must be used
on awake patients, but in order to work, they must have a sharp working edge, but any movement from a non-collaborative canine can potentially cause injury.
By the very act of arguing,
you awake the patient's reason; and once it is awake, who can foresee the result?
Many clients prefer to have this done during an anesthetic procedure since the rather large microchip needle can be painlessly inserted while the cat is asleep for surgery, but a microchip can be implanted easily in
an awake patient.
As with an otoscope cone or bivalve nasal speculum, the endoscope does not allow a thorough evaluation of the cheek teeth in
an awake patient.
These periodontal grades are difficult to predict in
the awake patient, and there is a chance some teeth will be found that are a grade higher.
An x-ray can frequently be taken on
an awake patient, but if your furry friend is a bit nervous, sedation provides a safe and effective way to take perfect pictures.
Many clients prefer to have this done during an anesthetic procedure to lessen the pain of the large bore needle used with the microchip, but this injection can be done easily in
an awake patient.
An awake patient simply would not tolerate the sound of the instruments or the lie still for this type of cleaning.
An oral exam is performed as described for
the awake patient.
We often find many problems (such as broken teeth, poorly positioned teeth, periodontal disease and tooth resorption) that we were not able to see in
the awake patient.
Proper dentistry can not be performed on
an awake patient.
Attempting to perform procedures on
an awake patient that is struggling or is under sedation / injectable anesthesia reduces the ability to make an accurate diagnosis, does not allow adequate treatment, and increases stress and risks to the patient.
This test is generally performed on
an awake patient and the results are often available within 24 hours of the test.
In
the awake patient, the veterinary dentist has a very limited view of most of the teeth in the mouth.
The most common uses of local anesthetics in the rabbit include minor skin procedures (skin biopsies, small tumor removals, IV catheter placement), ophthalmic procedures (tear duct flushing and thorough eye exam) and nasoesophageal tube placement (the drops are put in the nose so the small tube can be placed in
the awake patient without discomfort).
In
the awake patient, the area below the gum line can not be seen, yet under anesthesia it is much easier to fully visualize this area.