Sedation Dentistry For Kids: What You Should Know

What is sedation dentistry? 

As the term suggests, sedation dentistry involves sedating a patient before performing a dental treatment or procedure on the patient. The idea is to relieve patients of their dental anxiety, fear, and any sort of pain that might be associated with the dental procedure.

Some dental procedures like tooth extraction, root canal treatment, wisdom tooth removal, and more can cause intolerable pain to the patient. Sedation dentistry helps them relax during the procedure, which also helps the dentist to get done with the treatment quicker.

Why do kids need sedation dentistry? 

Understandably, kids don’t have the same level of pain tolerance as that of adults. It’s not uncommon for a kid to undergo a tooth extraction, root canal treatment, or even a restorative dental procedure. This is why they sometimes require to be sedated during a dental procedure.

Furthermore, dental anxiety is largely present in kids and to relieve that anxiety, pediatric dentists find sedation dentistry necessary to perform treatments on the kids.

Is sedation dentistry safe for kids? 

Sedation dentistry is proven to be safe for kids. Furthermore, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) has updated the guidelines and standards to follow while performing sedation dentistry on kids. To provide a brief overview of it, 2 professionals need to be present at the site of the treatment- the dentist performing the sedation and an independent observer.

As pointed out by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the observer must be “a physician anesthesiologist, a certified registered nurse anesthetist, a second oral surgeon, or a dentist anesthesiologist.” 

Thus, measures have been taken by two of the authorized bodies for pediatric dentistry to ensure safe and secure sedation for kids. Hence, it is safe to say that sedation dentistry is indeed safe for kids.

What are the types of sedation available for kids? 

The following are the types of sedation that can be given to kid, as per AAP:

• 
  
  
  
  • Nitrous oxide: It’s mild sedation that helps your kids relax during a dental procedure and get rid of their dental anxiety.
  
  
  • Mild sedation: Commonly given to older kids, this keeps your child awake while still helping them relax during the entire dental procedure.
  
  
  • Moderate sedation: Moderate sedation nearly puts children to sleep. However, some kids can still follow the instructions of the pediatric dentist while being relaxed during the procedure.
  
  
  • IV sedation: This type of sedation puts your child to sleep until the procedure is over. They won’t even remember a thing about what happened during the treatment!
  
  
  
  

Preventive measures in sedation dentistry for kids 

Colgate has laid out some interesting and convincing preventive measures that you as a parent can follow for your kids’ sedation dentistry appointment. You can read more about it on their website.

• 
  
  
  
  • First, you must educate your kid properly about what’s going to happen, to help them be prepared for it and tolerate the sedation smoothly. Panicking while being sedated is not good and parents can best get rid of that panic.
  
  
  • You must always urge the pediatric dentist to do a safety check of the sedative that will be given to your kid.
  
  
  • Also, your kid should not be paranoid when they wake up from sedation. You should be the first person whom they should see when they wake up to make them feel comfortable. This is why many pediatric dentists let parents in when kids are about to wake up from sedation. If your pediatric dentist does not allow this, try urging them to consider it.
  
  
  
  

Still nervous about letting your kid undergo sedation dentistry? Get the best pediatric dentist for sedation dentistry for kids near you in Tinley Park IL open today!