International patients often hesitate before booking dental implant treatment abroad — not because they doubt the results, but because they're anxious about the procedure itself. In an excerpt from the Remedico podcast, Dr. Costa Nicolopoulos, Co-Founder and Specialist Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon at SameDay Dental Clinic, answered exactly this question — and explained how the clinic treats that fear as seriously as the surgery itself.
Dr. Costa explains that SameDay groups patients into three comfort categories, and matches the anesthesia approach to each one.
Patients who aren't anxious. These patients are treated the way a dentist typically works — with standard local anesthesia. The area being treated is numbed, the patient stays fully alert, and no additional sedation is used.
Patients who feel a bit nervous. For this group, SameDay adds oral sedation on top of local anesthetic. He notes that this usually means a sedative tablet that leaves the patient deeply relaxed, but still semi-awake and conscious — they breathe on their own, can cough, and can respond to instructions. Dr. Costa says patients typically don't remember the procedure at all afterward, and this approach covers roughly 90% of SameDay's larger cases.
Patients who want to be fully asleep. For patients who don't want to be aware of the procedure at all, SameDay offers full general anesthesia. Because this requires a hospital setting, the procedure is performed at Dubai London Hospital, located directly across from the clinic. Patients typically go home the same evening. For those who've flown in and don't have someone to look after them at their hotel, an overnight stay at the hospital is available before they're discharged the next day.
The goal, as Dr. Costa puts it, is that every level of dental anxiety has a corresponding solution — so fear of the experience is never the reason a patient delays treatment.
Ready to talk through which option is right for you? Book a complimentary consultation with the SameDay team.
