What is Pediatric Dental Sedation
As a family dentist in League City offering numerous dental services, some patients may prefer to undergo dental sedation to calm their anxiety and to ensure we can properly treat their teeth. In this blog, our League City dentist will discuss more in-depth what dental sedation is and which methods we offer.
What is Pediatric Dental Sedation at Our League City Dentist Office?
Sedation is a safe technique in which we utilize different medications to help our young patients feel more relaxed. If your child is afraid of the dentist and/or even restless in the dental chair, pediatric sedation will keep them awake and responsive, but much calmer. This way, they feel safer and we can work on their teeth without the worry of sudden movements.
Types of Pediatric Dental Sedation Our League City Pediatric Dentist Offers
There are 3 types of sedation our League City dentist offers to children:
Laughing Gas
Laughing gas is made up of nitrous oxide and oxygen. Before your child’s dental treatment begins, we will place a mask over their nose to administer the gas. Laughing gas is completely harmless and a quick, effective way to reduce the anxiety that could result from a dental phobia. It can also easily be re-administered throughout the treatment if necessary. Further, laughing gas wears off fairly quickly, which means your child should feel back to their normal self shortly after the procedure.
Oral Sedation
Oral sedation is carried out by administering a pill prior to your child’s treatment. A bit stronger than laughing gas, your child could potentially doze off while sedated by this method. Because of this, we wouldn’t recommend oral sedation during a dental check-up, as we need your child to be awake so they can bite down, move their tongue, and tilt their head.
Anesthesia
Using a Class IV anesthetic will put your child to sleep completely. In fact, most of the time our League City pediatric dentist’s patients don’t even realize they’ve fallen asleep or had a procedure done due to how quickly time seems to pass while under anesthesia. Since this does result in deeper sedation, we typically use this when completing more invasive dental procedures, such as wisdom teeth removal (LINK).
Our League City Family Dentist Can Safely Sedate Your Child If Necessary
If your child has a dental phobia or has a hard time staying still and cooperating during a dental visit, then pediatric dental sedation may be a great solution. The right sedation method keeps your child comfortable and enables our League City pediatric dentist to do a high-quality job. If your child is in need of a dental check-up or other treatment, please schedule an appointment. We will be glad to understand their needs and give them a healthy smile with ease.
