Is Dental Sedation Safe For Children?

Is your child extremely anxious about visiting the dentist? Do you have a special needs child that has difficulty sitting still for dental appointments? If you are looking for a pediatric dentist near you in Palm Harbor, Dr. Maggie Davis offers completely safe sedation dentistry to help kids relax during their dental appointments for certain procedures. While your child is sedated, our dental professionals continuously monitor your child to ensure their safety.

Benefits of Sedation Dentistry

Sedation dentistry is beneficial for helping your child feel relaxed and calm during his or her dental appointment, especially if the treatments are going to take a long time to complete. Sedation also ensures a pain-free appointment where your child won’t be distracted or resistant to the treatments. Additionally, procedures typically get accomplished faster with sedation dentistry due to your child not constantly squirming in their chairs. Sedation dentistry is also recommended for special needs children who may not understand why they are at the dentist or have the ability to sit still for an extended period of time.

Ensuring Sedation Dentistry Safety

Our pediatric dentist in Palm Harbor, Dr. Maggie Davis is committed to ensuring your child’s safety before, during, and after all sedation dentistry appointments. This means that prior to giving your child any type of sedation medication, we will always:

• Talk to you about your child’s health, dental anxiety, fear, and pain tolerances
• Talk to your pediatrician to make sure your child is healthy enough for sedation dentistry
• Monitor your child while he or she is sedated
• Have the appropriate medical professionals on-site

Types of Sedation Dentistry Offered by Our Dentist for Children

Our dentist for children in Pam Harbor offers three types of sedation dentistry: nitrous oxide, oral sedation, and IV sedation. The type of sedation offered by our dentist depends on your child’s age, anxiety levels, and overall health.

Nitrous Oxide

Nitrous oxide is also known as laughing gas. It is the mildest form of dental sedation. We recommend nitrous oxide for children who experience anxiety or fear while at the dentist. Once your child starts inhaling the mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen, the effects take hold within a few minutes. This medication will help your child relax and increase his or her tolerance for discomfort. Once the dental procedures are complete, the nose mask is removed, and your child will recover from the gas relatively quickly. It’s important to note that your child will remain awake while under the effects of the nitrous oxide.

Oral Pediatric Dental Sedation

Oral pediatric dental sedation involves giving your child medication by mouth. The medication will help your child relax and put them in a groggy state, but will not put them to sleep. We recommend oral sedation for children who have special needs, are developmentally delayed, or for children who are too young to understand or tolerate the dental procedures. While your child is sedated with oral medication, our staff will continuously monitor their vitals to ensure safety. As an additional precaution, we will also talk to your child’s pediatrician prior to your dental appointment in order to ensure your child is healthy enough for the medication and not allergic to any of the ingredients.

IV Dental Sedation

IV dental sedation is the deepest form of sedation we offer at our dental office in Palm Harbor. This type of sedation does not put your child into a deep sleep, like would be needed for surgery. Instead, they are in a deep twilight state that may result in them nodding off, but they can be woken with a light tap. During this type of sedation, we bring anesthesiologists and nurses into our office to administer the IV sedation and to monitor your child. When they arrive, they bring hospital sedation machinery and monitoring equipment with them, and the medical team never leaves the room while your child is under IV sedation. We recommend IV sedation for special needs children and children who are significantly developmentally delayed or who are too young to fully cooperate with instructions during the dental appointment.

To schedule your child’s sedation dentistry appointment in Palm Harbor, contact our office at 727-786-7551.