Should Children be Sedated in Dentistry?

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Should Children be Sedated in Dentistry?
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Table of Content

• What types of sedation do dentists use for
  children?
• Monitoring must occur before and after any
  childhood sedation
• Measures for parents to take before childhood
  dental sedation
• What to expect after dental sedation for
  children?

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• Even adults can get overly nervous during
  dental procedures. This is called Dentophobia.
  While adults many times can calm their nerves,
  children, especially toddlers do not possess the
  mindset yet to do so.
• This leads many dentists, especially
  pediatric dentists to use sedation even for small
  procedures such as X-rays and cleanings. The
  overall wisdom is that dental hygiene should
  start young, so taking toddlers to the dentist is
  recommended in developed countries.
• Children also fidget more than adults and
  most dental procedures do require a child to lie
  perfectly still while undergoing the dental work.
  

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What types of sedation do dentists use for
children?

• Nitrous Oxide Also called laughing gas, it is
  simply a gas that relaxes a child and is not at
  all intrusive. It wears off quickly.
• Medication Sedation This is usually a
  combination of medications given and used more
  often on older children. There can be a mild
  mix of medications given orally or a moderately
  heavy dose depending upon the work being done.
• Intravenous Sedation This is given via a needle
  in the arm, the top of the hand, the inside of an
  elbow, or any available vein. Children can have
  small veins so locating a good vein is paramount
  so that multiple attempts are not needed. This is
  generally used for rather long procedures,
  painful procedures, or for children with absolute
  acute dentophobia.

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What types of sedation do dentists use for
children?

• General Anesthesia This is almost the same as
  Intravenous Sedation although it is a gas that is
  much stronger than Nitrous Oxide. A pediatric
  dental surgeon usually is performing the
  procedure and at least one other person must be
  on hand who has knowledge of General Anesthesia
  and monitoring of a childs vitals. This is
  usually reserved for severe cases of infection
  and other serious dental diseases.

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Monitoring must occur before and after any
childhood sedation

• Since sedation is indeed anesthesia of a
  type, just like in a hospital, heart rate, blood
  pressure, and other signs of any distress in a
  child must be consistently monitored when using
  sedation dentistry on children.
• The monitoring should be done by an
  experienced individual such as a nurse,
  Physicians Assistant, or Nurse Practitioner.
  Time should also be given for a child to wake up
  and be less groggy before departing.

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Monitoring must occur before and after any
childhood sedation

• Even adults can get overly nervous during
  dental procedures. This is called Dentophobia.
  While adults many times can calm their nerves,
  children, especially toddlers do not possess the
  mindset yet to do so. This leads many dentists,
  especially pediatric dentists to use sedation
  even for small procedures such as X-rays and
  cleanings. The overall wisdom is that dental
  hygiene should start young, so taking toddlers to
  the dentist is recommended in developed
  countries.
• Children also fidget more than adults and
  most dental procedures do require a child to lie
  perfectly still while undergoing the dental work.
  

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Measures for parents to take before childhood
dental sedation

• Just like when having an operation in a hospital,
  food and drink should be avoided according to the
  timeframe given by the dentist. Also, all other
  medications and childhood illnesses such as
  asthma or allergies to medications will need to
  be given to the dentist. A form is usually
  provided for this.

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What to expect after dental sedation for
children?

• A child, even with mild sedation might be
  groggy for several hours or even a whole day
  depending upon the type of dental sedation. A
  parent should allow the child to rest, and limit
  their activities as the grogginess may make the
  child clumsy and prone to accidents.
• Light foods and plenty of fluids are usually
  recommended. Some nausea might occur but the
  fluids, especially water, will flush the sedative
  medications out of a childs body sooner.
  Sedation dentistry in children is an art and a
  medical procedure.

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• Business Name Desert Kids Dental
• Address 9859 W Deer Springs Way STE 110, Las
  Vegas, NV 89149
• Phone Number 702-660-7099
• Business Hours Mon-Thurs 8am-5pm / Friday
  8am-12pm
• Website https//www.desertkidsdental.com/