We have many ways to help children through dental procedures. Our staff is very good with children and the staff is our best asset. We are experienced and skilled with children. We use laughing gas (nitrous oxide and oxygen) frequently with children because it is safe and usually effective. We time and sequence treatment steps to gain the child’s confidence, doing the easiest things first. And we offer oral sedation and in-office general anesthesia for more difficult behavior problems. These services for children are more specialized and not generally available elsewhere. Read about all our behavior management techniques. The last two methods are discussed below.
General Anesthesia
You may choose intravenous general anesthesia to help your child with necessary dental treatments. There are many reasons why a parent chooses to have their child given anesthesia. This is commonly done for children who are young, uncooperative and/or in need of extensive treatment. Yet, you may wish to select this approach to give your child the most painless and least threatening means to dental treatment. This may be the best option since all the work is done at one time or because you live a far away. Whatever your reason, we are here to serve you. Your child will be managed by an experienced anesthesiologist right in our office. Your child will be carefully monitored throughout the whole procedure as our staff administers an efficient dental procedure. As your child wakes up, the help of an experienced recovery nurse will be there. All necessary emergency drugs and equipment are on site. While parents cannot stay in the treatment area, they are permitted to be with the child while going to sleep and waking up. And this fine service is offered at a price only one forth of hospital outpatient fees.
Oral Sedation
You may choose to have your child sedated with oral drugs. Oral drugs are available to sedate your child for dental treatment and can be a very helpful means of administering the drug. Your child must be 4 years of age or older for it to be safe and effective.
We use Versed for younger children needing shorter appointments. We use Halcion for older children, especially those needing longer appointments. Both are mild sedatives that are relatively safe because they do not depress respiration, as the narcotic drugs do. Both Versed and Halcion have limited side effects and a good record for safety use. In some cases, nitrous oxide gas is used to potentiate the oral drugs.
Oral drugs are commonly not powerful enough to control all behavioral problems. They often must be combined with the use of restraints on younger children. There are risks involved, such as drug reactions and side effects, so we advise that parents must monitor the child the day after sedation. The cost for oral drug sedation is about half our general anesthesia fee.
