In short: follow the fasting and medicine instructions your own anaesthetist gives you, exactly. Arrange a responsible adult to take you home and stay with you. Tell the team about your health, your medicines and anything that changes before the day. The rest of this page is a checklist to help you get everything ready.
Fasting and medicines: your own instructions come first
Fasting times depend on you, your treatment, the level of sedation and the setting, so this page deliberately gives no times. Do not rely on times from a friend, an old appointment or a website. If your instructions are unclear, or you have eaten or drunk when you should not have, phone the practice or hospital before you travel. Dr Aly's main website explains why fasting matters and what to ask about your medicines.
A week or two before
- Answer the health questionnaire fully. Include heart and lung conditions, diabetes, sleep apnoea, reflux, pregnancy or breastfeeding, and any past problems with anaesthesia in you or your family.
- Make a list of everything you take, including injections, inhalers, over-the-counter medicines and supplements, with doses.
- Weekly or daily injections for diabetes or weight loss (GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines): tell the team as early as possible. ANZCA’s current recommendation is generally to keep taking them rather than stop, and you may be asked to follow a clear-fluid diet the day before. Do not change anything unless you are told to.
- Blood thinners and diabetes medicines need specific instructions. The Australian Society of Anaesthetists advises getting these from your anaesthetist rather than guessing.
- Mention your teeth: loose teeth, crowns, bridges and implants, because airway equipment can damage them.
- Book your escort: a responsible adult to take you home and stay with you.
- Plan time off: at least the rest of the day, and longer after oral surgery.
- Ask for written cost estimates from the dentist, the anaesthetist and any hospital or day surgery.
- Ask for a professional interpreter if you would like one. The Translating and Interpreting Service is on 131 450.
- If you smoke or vape, stopping before an anaesthetic helps. ANZCA notes that even a single day without smoking lowers nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in the blood.
Questions to settle before the day
ANZCA’s position on consent says written information is not a substitute for talking with you. Use the pre-anaesthetic conversation to ask:
- What level of sedation, or a general anaesthetic, is planned, and what will I probably remember?
- Who will give it and look after me until I go home?
- What are the main risks for me, and what are the alternatives?
- Exactly when do I stop eating and drinking, and which medicines do I take on the morning?
- What should I do if I become unwell before the day?
The day before
- Read your fasting and medicine instructions again and set reminders for the stop times.
- Confirm your escort and how you are getting home. Public transport alone is not suitable.
- Get home ready: soft food, fluids, any pain relief you have been advised to use, and a comfortable place to rest.
- If you develop a cold, fever, vomiting or a new health problem, phone the practice or hospital. Your treatment may need to be postponed.
On the morning
- Follow your fasting instructions and take only the medicines you were told to take.
- Wear loose, comfortable clothes with sleeves that push up easily, for the cannula and blood pressure cuff.
- Leave jewellery and valuables at home.
- Bring your medicine list, any medicines you were told to bring, your Medicare and health fund cards, and your glasses or hearing aids.
- If you use a breathing machine for sleep apnoea, ask whether to bring it.
- Arrive at the time you were given, with your escort’s phone number.
For the person taking you home
ANZCA’s sedation guideline says patients should be discharged into the care of a responsible adult, who receives written instructions. The Australian Society of Anaesthetists advises that an adult stays with you for the first night. If you are the escort, plan to:
- be contactable during the appointment and arrive when called
- drive or accompany the patient home
- stay with them for at least the first night
- keep the written instructions and phone numbers handy
- help them stick to the no-driving, no-alcohol and no-important-decisions advice.
If you feel anxious
Feeling nervous is common. The Better Health Channel suggests slow breathing, music or other distraction, and agreeing a “stop” signal with your dentist. Tell the team how you feel; they would rather know. For more general preparation advice that applies to any anaesthetic, see Dr Aly’s guide to preparing for anaesthesia.
Sources
- ANZCA. Fasting before your surgery (patient information). Page modified 26 Oct 2026.
- ANZCA. PG09(G) Guideline on procedural sedation (sections 3, 5, 7.5, 9.3, 9.4, 13.4; Appendix III; Appendix V glossary). December 2023; links reviewed July 2025.
- ANZCA. GLP-1 receptor agonists: clinical practice recommendations (with patient information sheet). Recommendations April 2025; page modified 22 Oct 2026.
- Australian Society of Anaesthetists. Anaesthesia for oral surgery (patient information pamphlet). Last reviewed 12 Mar 2024.
- Australian Society of Anaesthetists. After your anaesthetic. Page modified 27 May 2026.
- ANZCA. Anaesthesia and smoking (patient information). Page modified 30 Sep 2025.
- healthdirect Australia. General anaesthetic. Last reviewed Dec 2025.
- Better Health Channel (Victorian Department of Health). Dental anxiety and phobia. Reviewed 22 Oct 2025.
- ANZCA. PS26(A) Position statement on informed consent for anaesthesia or sedation. April 2021.
- Written by
- Altitude Creative, health content team, on behalf of Dr Walid Aly
- Clinical reviewer
- In progress
- Review date
- Clinical review in progress
- Next review due
- Set at clinical review
How this guide is written, reviewed and corrected: editorial policy.
In an emergency, call 000. This information is general and does not replace advice from your treating practitioner.