1 General anesthesia. 2  With this technique, the patient is put to sleep for the duration of the procedure. 3  Patients requiring general anesthesia can be treated in the dentist's office, but more likely are treated in a hospital setting. Intravenous sedation. 2  This form of pain and anxiety control involves injecting a sedative into a vein of a patient's arm or hand. 3  This approach is usually reserved for patients undergoing extensive dental procedures or for the extremely anxious patient.