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Sedation Dentistry for Children


 

Children’s Sedation Dentist

Is your child extremely anxious about visiting the dentist? We have several sedation options for them:

Oral Sedation

Safe and effective, Oral Sedation allows your child to remain awake and aware, but their anxiety will be reduced for any dental procedure.

Nitrous Oxide Sedation

We also provide Nitrous Oxide or “laughing gas” as an alternative form of sedation to calm and relax children before procedures. Known for it analgesic properties, Nitrous Oxide is administered nasally and can calm you during any procedure.

IV Sedation

We are credentialed to perform IV Sedation in our office, where your child will be conscious but fully sedated. Anesthesia is delivered intravenously into the bloodstream. This technique will put you in a deep state of relaxation, and you will be safely monitored the entire time.

Which oral sedation option would be best for my child?

My goal and hope is that every patient is able to have dental work completed without pharmacological assistance. However, some children, for a variety of reasons, are unable to get dental work completed with this traditional method. This is where different sedation techniques prove invaluable to making an office visit less stressful for your child. The mildest form of sedation used is Nitrous Oxide (“laughing gas”). The patient breathes in the gas that is mixed with oxygen through the nose. Nitrous oxide helps to relieve anxiety, reduce gag reflex, and create a more pleasurable experience for the child. This technique is extremely safe and recommended for almost all restorative procedures. However, this only works if the patient is able or willing to breathe through the nose. Bare in mind that if you don’t start the procedure with Nitrous or decide to use it once the patient becomes upset, the patient most likely won’t be able to calm down enough to only breathe through his or her nose and the Nitrous will be ineffective. You will need some degree of cooperation for Nitrous use to be successful. A child with extensive treatment and/or extreme anxiety may not be able to benefit from Nitrous.

For a child with a moderate level of anxiety or too young to sit still and breathe through his or her nose, oral sedation is sometimes a viable option. In an oral sedation, a child drinks a sedative drug before the dental procedure is started. The medication will hopefully help calm the child and allow them tolerate treatment. A patient’s vitals are measured closely during this process.

For extreme anxiety and/or very extensive treatment, IV Sedation may be recommended. These procedures eliminate behavior issues and allow for all treatment to be completed in one sitting.

All of these sedation techniques are used on a case-by-case basis and with parental knowledge and permission. If your child will benefit from any of these procedures, our office will give you more information and will be happy to answer any questions that you may have.

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