Comfortably reclined, covered with a blanket and delightfully sleepy, Cricket Frederick relaxed while her dentist treated and crowned her decaying tooth.

In an unaltered state, Ms. Frederick, 42, would have experienced a panic attack at the mere thought of scheduling a dental appointment.

But thanks to the soothing effects of a Valium pill given to her by Dr. Andrew Allgood, she experienced no fear and no pain during the procedure.

In fact, she was feeling pretty good.

"Oh, yeah, it's better than the drink I had last night," Ms. Frederick said jokingly during a pause in the procedure.

Between 10 percent and 20 percent of Dr. Allgood's patients take advantage of the "anxiety-free dentistry" he offers at his Martinez practice. With just one swallow of a sedative, patients can alleviate fright and apprehension they experience at the dentist's office and receive important treatment they might otherwise avoid.

The patient is drowsy but conscious and alert during the procedure, Dr. Allgood said.

According to dental experts, "conscious sedation" is a growing trend across the nation. Thanks to the increased availability of newer and safer drugs. more dentists are offering the option, said Dr. John Freihaut, a spokesman for the Georgia Dental Association.

Conscious sedation appeals to patients who are nervous about going to the dentist, especially those who may have had bad experiences in the past, he said.

"Patients in their 40s, 50s and 60s remember dentists from childhood," said Dr. Freihaut, a Marietta dentist specializing in oral surgery. "There's a lot of anxiety."

But conscious sedation is also good for long procedures that require patients to lie in the dentist's chair with their mouths open for hours, he said.

Before the patient's appointment, Dr. Allgood goes over medical history to ensure the patient is healthy.

The patient then takes a small dosage of Valium at home, usually an hour before the procedure, and arrives at his office relaxed.

Dr. Allgood administers nitrous oxide and monitors the patient's heart rate, blood pressure and pulse during the procedure.

Someone must drive the patient to and from the office, he said.

"One great thing about it, most of the time they don't even remember the dental appointment," Dr. Allgood said.

Although every dentist is trained to administer Valium and nitrous oxide, the Georgia Dental Association has issued guidelines for conscious sedation, deep sedation and general anesthesia, Dr. Freihaut said.

As many as 350 of the state's 4,000 licensed dentists have sedation permits, Dr. Freihaut estimated. Slightly more than half of these dentists have state-issued conscious sedation permits, and the rest have permits to administer deep sedation and general anesthesia, he said.

Usually, it's the oral surgeons who obtain a deep sedation/general anesthesia permit to treat fractured jaws or remove wisdom teeth, he said.

Based on American Dental Association teaching guidelines, Georgia dentists who administer oral conscious sedation must complete a minimum of 16 hours of classroom work and treat 15 patients under supervision before receiving the permit from the Georgia Board of Dentistry, Dr. Freihaut said.

Dr. Allgood said he has taken at least 30 hours in postgraduate courses for oral conscious sedation and must take eight hours of continuing education courses annually.

Conscious sedation is not usually covered by insurance policies because it is viewed as elective, Dr. Freihaut said.

But Dawn Tudor, of Evans, said the relaxing effect is worth the price.

Ms. Tudor, 68, a retired school nurse, isn't afraid of going to the dentist but tried conscious sedation when Dr. Allgood told her she needed to have 12 teeth capped.

The procedure would be broken up in two visits, and to pass the hours without boredom or anxiety, Ms. Tudor took a small dosage of Halcion, she said.

Going to the dentist "hasn't been that pleasant in years," she said.

Reach Kate Lewis at (706) 823-3215 or kate.lewis@augustachronicle.com.