Pediatric Sedation Dentistry Options
Sometimes children can’t tolerate certain pediatric dental procedures with just behavioral guidance. Pediatric dental sedation can help to manage anxiety and pain and/or control the patient’s behavior in order to complete necessary dental procedures. The Pediatric Dental Studio offers a variety of sedation options.
- Nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is also known as laughing gas. It is a safe and effective sedative that calms mildly anxious children. However, it can still keep them awake and allow them to talk to the dentist. Laughing Gas is administered via a mask that is placed on the child’s face. It is very fast to start working and quickly wears off after the procedure. It is the safest choice for pediatric sedation. It can be used with other sedatives as needed.
- Oral conscious Sedation. Sedation by oral conscious is safe for young patients who struggle to use the laughing gas and only require minimal dental work. Some children may not be suitable for oral sedate. If your child has trouble absorbing nitrous dioxide-based dental work, we will examine your child and determine if oral sedation is right for them.
- General anesthesia. This is recommended if your child is unable or unwilling to undergo nitrous dioxide attempts or oral sedated treatment. General anesthesia allows the child to be asleep throughout the procedure without feeling any pain. It will also allow the child to not remember or feel the treatment. We will discuss any risks associated with general anesthesia with our clients if we recommend it.
