Fearless Pediatric Dental Treatment with Conscious Sedation.
Visiting a dentist can be fearful, especially for a child, as it’s a new environment for them surrounded by many unknown persons (dentist and team members), and then they poke instruments in their mouth. It cannot be very comforting for a child.
If your child dreads visiting the dentist, you are not the only parent with this difficulty. But that doesn’t mean your child has to compromise their oral health. At childhood smile, we use conscious sedation to take the fear out of dentistry. This enables your child to get the treatment and required care they need to keep their teeth and gums strong and healthy.
In addition to that, your child will have little or no memory of their dental procedure. The benefit is it will remove the anxiety for subsequent trips to the pediatric dentist and reinforce positive associations with dental hygiene.
Our chief pediatric dentist Dr Debarchanna Jena is a renowned pediatric dentist with expertise in using conscious sedation during pediatric dental treatment. Read more about her by clicking here.
What is Conscious Sedation?
Conscious sedation involves using drugs (medicines) called antianxiety agents and sedatives to make the child feel sleepy and relaxed. But at the same time, your child will not lose consciousness and remain awake and responsive.
These drugs (medicines) can be given orally (pills or liquid) or nasally (as a gas, nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas). The choice of method of administration depends upon many factors.
The use of laughing gas is preferred as it can be administered easily with a nasal mask. Additionally, it wears off quickly and is very safe for younger and older children of all ages. Wondering if conscious sedation is safe for your child? Click here to read more about it.
How is Conscious Sedation different from General Anesthesia?
Conscious sedation is generally used in procedures like dental cleaning, filling cavities, pulp therapy, dental crown, and many more.
You child remains awake during the treatment and may even recollect some of it.
Conscious sedation is delivered through a pill or gas or even a shot in the muscle.
Your child is allowed to proceed home soon after the sedation procedure.
General anesthesia is used for longer duration treatment like (Full mouth rehabilitation) and sometimes for minor procedures when a child is uncooperative.
Your child remains unconscious during the procedure and will not recollect any of it.
The medications are administered intravenously and work faster than conscious sedation.
Your child needs to stay at the clinic longer because general anesthesia needs hours to wear off.
Types of Conscious Sedation.
Laughing Gas/ Nitrous Oxide
A mix of nitrous oxide and oxygen is used to cause a feeling of euphoria and relaxation in the child. It addresses mild to moderate anxiety and keeps the child relaxed during the procedure.
It can even make some children laugh or giggle, and therefore we also call it “Laughing Gas.” Some children also experience a tingling sensation in their feet and hands. Nitrous oxide wears off just a few seconds or minutes after the child stops breathing it. They will be ready to resume their usual activities upon leaving the clinic.
Oral Conscious Sedation
Oral conscious sedation is ideal for lengthier procedures. The child can take a pill or a liquid sedative before the procedure to help them feel more relaxed.
While they remain conscious, the medication will cause them to feel calm and a bit drowsy during their treatment. They may even fall asleep. It can take some time for the effects of oral conscious sedation to wear off, so ensure your child gets ample rest after their treatment.
When do we suggest conscious sedation for dental treatment?
Your child may benefit from conscious sedation in one or more of the following:
Your child has a tendency toward anxiety in general. The child has special needs such as physical, cognitive, or behavioural. The child has difficulty sitting still or controlling movements. A lengthy dental procedure. Previous negative experience with dental visits. Dental Phobia (dental fear) and anxiety or scared of visiting a dentist due to traumatic and long dental procedures. Medical conditions aggravated by stress like angina, asthma, epilepsy, etc. When your child fears needles. A very low pain threshold.
Is conscious sedation safe for kids?
Like any medical procedure, it also carries some risk. With an experienced dentist, the danger of complications from oral conscious sedation is minimal.
The risk is mainly associated with children with special health conditions. Therefore our dentist will take a complete medical history before administering sedation to ensure that it is safe for your child.
During conscious sedation, our team constantly monitor the child’s vital signs, including respiration and blood pressure, and have oxygen and drugs on hand to reverse the effects if necessary.
Painless Tooth Extraction Using Conscious Sedation at Childhood Smiles, Bangalore
Conscious Sedation Procedure.
Patient Preparation
It includes taking a detailed medical history of the child, examination, and a thorough airway examination.
Pre-Operating Setup
All the equipment and instruments for administration and monitoring, resuscitation apparatus (if required), and drugs will be made ready.
Dental procedure
The child will be induced with a sedative by either delivery method (oral or nasal). After a waiting period of 15-20 minutes (the time sedative to act), the pediatric dentist and anaesthetist (if required) will monitor the child’s breathing, blood pressure and other relevant parameters. Once the sedative acts on the patient, we will begin the procedure.
How conscious sedation for children can save time and money.
Conscious sedation for kids can save time and make treatment less expensive, particularly if your child needs a complex, lengthy procedure. Without the use of sedation, it may take several appointments due to apprehension or inability to stay still.
It enables our pediatric dentist to perform multiple procedures in a single appointment, and your child may feel as if little time has passed, with no discomfort or anxiety.
Why Childhood Smiles for your child's dental treatment in Bangalore?
At childhood smiles, we have the training and plenty of experience using sedation dentistry to make dental care more comfortable for children. If you have concerns, we will discuss them with you at length to ensure you are completely comfortable with your child receiving sedation before we proceed.
You should choose childhood smiles for dental treatment of your child in Bangalore as
a. We are an exclusive pediatric dental care center which means your child will not only get the required laser treatment, he/she will get holistic oral care in one place.
b. The Center has qualified and experienced pediatric and orthodontic dentists who have extensive experience in treating kids’ dental problems. Click here to read more about our dentists.
c. Qualified for Sedation Dentistry: Our dentists are certified for dental treatment with conscious sedation and have years of experience in it.
d. The infrastructure and equipment we use for conscious sedation are state of art for children’s dental treatment.