Most children are calm, comfortable and confident in a pediatric dental office. Sometimes, however, a child may feel anxious before or during treatment. Your child may need more support than a gentle, caring manner to feel comfortable. This process is called sedation.
Your child may find the treatment frightening or uncomfortable. To help him/her relax and stay still during treatment, sedation is used as a very effective technique. This medication is a mild to moderate sedative and not a general anesthetic. This allows the dentist to work while your child is comfortably resting/sleeping. It is primarily used to minimize the patient’s long-term memory and anxiety of this procedure. Whether the child is awake or not during treatment, very little will be recalled on a long-term basis.
Your child may be given sedation as a syrup/honey drink or may get sedation through a mask/nasal hood. The doctor will discuss with you which type of sedation is best for your child for the procedure. For inhalational sedation, we will be placing a nasal hood over your child’s nose to supply them with mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide (laughing gas). This will also help keep your child in a relaxed state of sedation and will ensure that they receive an adequate amount of oxygen throughout the procedure. Your child will be closely monitored and well supervised throughout the procedure.
It is important to tell your child what will happen during the treatment so that they feel less anxious and more prepared. Explain to them about nasal hood and the monitor being attached to the fingers to observe their vitals. A separate instruction sheet will be provided to you for the pre-operative instructions that need to be followed for successful delivery of sedation to your child.
Your child may have following experiences: a tingling sensation, lighter floating feeling; warm feeling throughout the body with flush cheeks; laughter or giddiness; detachment from the environment; lightweight or floating sensation, sluggishness and slurring and/or repetition of words; feeling of nausea; vomiting or agitation. Sometimes, instead of making your child sleepy, the sedation may make your child overly active, and upset in case of oral sedation. All of the above are transient and self-resolving.
Your child will be ready to go home when he/she is well oriented and the sedation doctor feels all criteria are met. If you are driving home, it is strongly recommended that a second guardian is available to sit beside and watch your child in car. Please make sure your child wears his/her seat belt.
The use and procedure of administration of nitrous oxide/oral sedation has been fully explained to me, including the benefits and risks involved. I understand that my child must not have any food or drink, including water, for 2 hours prior to the appointment. In case of intentional or accidental violation of fasting, appointment has to be rescheduled.
I have had the opportunity to discuss nitrous oxide use in conjunction with my child’s dental care, and have had an opportunity to ask questions and am fully satisfied with the answers I received in the language I understand.
I have informed the doctor of my child’s complete medical history including any recent surgeries, new medications or changes in my child’s medical history involving lung, respiratory, ear infection, or common cold. I also accept and understand that I must notify the doctor of my child’s present mental and physical condition.
Children tend to get scared of dental procedures and are unwilling to visit the clinic. We at Pearl Smylz make sure that the procedure does not affect the child psychologically. Therefore the friendly environment makes them comfortable and the procedure does not scare them or hurt them at all.
Key points to remember
At Pearl Smylyz we intend to create medicines that improve both the quality and duration of patient lives.
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