Transportation After Oral Surgery and IV Sedation Dentistry

What the practice is actually requiring

IV sedation dentistry uses the same agents as a surgical suite, at lower doses. The effect is the same in kind: you will feel capable of things you are not capable of, and you will not remember the drive.

Oral surgery adds a second problem the endoscopy centers don’t have. You will be leaving with gauze packed in your mouth, likely bleeding, possibly nauseated from swallowed blood, and under instructions not to talk much, not to spit and not to use a straw. That is not a good state in which to be managing a stranger’s vehicle, a route and a conversation.

Our drivers expect all of it. They assist at the door, they don’t need you to talk, and they will get you to your own front door rather than to the curb outside it.

How the ride works

Round trip on one booking is the usual arrangement — out to the practice, back when they call.

Bring someone or don’t. If a family member is coming to sit in the waiting room but can’t drive afterwards, that’s fine; the vehicle takes both of you. If nobody’s coming, the driver is the responsible adult the practice releases you to.

Tell us about stairs. Going up a flight while light-headed and holding gauze in place is where this trip can go wrong.

Tell us if the patient is a minor. A parent or guardian travels with them; that’s not an extra charge, it’s just how it works.

What it costs

A one-way ride by ambulatory or wheelchair transportation is $90 plus $3 a mile. Out to the practice and back on one booking is $55 per leg with five miles included on each, which comes in under two one-ways for short trips.

Our rate card and trip estimator are published, so you can price the ride before you call. Dental procedures are rarely a covered transport category, so this is private pay in nearly every case.

Dental trips that need an ambulance

We take sedated dental patients home from the practice; the ride is transport, not treatment.

A patient who needs an emergency room, on-board monitoring or a transfer to a hospital for a higher level of care needs an ambulance, not our van. If a rider becomes unwell, the driver stops safely and calls 911.

If this is a medical emergency, call 911.

If you can’t tell which you need, call and describe the patient; we’ll tell you when it’s an ambulance trip.

Common questions

Can I take an Uber or taxi home after sedation dentistry?

Practices that sedate patients generally won’t release them to a rideshare or taxi driver. Our driver comes inside, meets you at checkout and takes you to your own front door, and many local practices accept us as your ride. Confirm with the practice when you schedule, and give us the appointment time. A family member is welcome to ride along.

What if the procedure runs long or I don’t know when I’ll be ready?

Book the trip home as a will-call. Have the practice or a companion ring dispatch as you’re finishing and a driver heads over; call once you’re done and a driver arrives within 45 minutes. Calling early shortens the wait. A driver can wait on site instead at $75 an hour.

How do I ask for H&M Transport through Virginia Medicaid?

Call the transportation number on your Medicaid ID card; the brokers we work with are MTM Health and SafeRide Health. Request H&M Transport specifically when you book your ride. Covered rides cost the member nothing.

Book the ride

Book ahead — dental sedation appointments are scheduled weeks out, so there’s usually no reason to leave the ride to the last day.

Call dispatch at (703) 304-7889, any hour, or start on our reservations page and we’ll call back. A same-day ride needs three hours’ notice, a booking the day before is guaranteed, and we confirm by call or text within two hours. Changes are free more than two hours before pickup; a later change or a no-show is $50.

Dental rides run across Northern Virginia, Washington DC and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, under WMATC authority 3449 in the District and Maryland and Virginia DMV Certificate #524 in Virginia.