Conscious sedation at dentist

amother

Wed, Mar 07 2012, 9:23 am

My dd is 2 1/2 and has a big cavity that needs to be filled asap. Anyone have experience w sedation? They said laughing gas isn't strong enough for her, she was being VERY uncooperative... Thanks

amother

Wed, Mar 07 2012, 2:45 pm

We have the same thing going on with my 4 year old. He has four cavities and they want to put him under anesthesia. We have this procedure schedule for April. Not happy about it but we felt it was the best thing to do.

chocolate moose

Wed, Mar 07 2012, 3:15 pm

you might find a different dentist that your child is more comfortable with. I got banned from a dentist because I didn't behave and he recommended sedation for me.

I was so insulted, I'm not a farm animal.

now I see a gentle dentist and I'm fine.

MamO3

Wed, Mar 07 2012, 3:26 pm

My 2 yo split his lip badly and had to be sedated to stitch it up. It's very different to anesthesia. The child is in half asleep mode. He doesn't remember anything and he had the area numbed so didn't feel anything either.
I think the whole experience was more traumatic for me than him. I was in the room with him all the way through. He would move a lot, no control on his movements or his speech. Be prepared for crying, mumbling, sometimes even laughing. They're in a dreamy state. Very unsettling to watch but totally ok for the child.
When he came off it, he was upset, he was crying very weakly so I just held him, although he kept on trying to jump out my arms because he didn't recognise me. It took about 40 minutes to come out of it.
I felt I had experienced something really horrible, but for him it was just a minor procedure.
I know I'm making it sound bad, it wasn't too bad. what I mean is, you should prepare yourself more than him.

amother

Wed, Mar 07 2012, 7:40 pm

We did it for my 2 1/2 year old to fix a broken tooth.

They gave her a medicine to drink, we waited an hour - she was kinda drousy - that was it.

After the hour, the hygenist took her into the room - I wasn't allowed in - and when they were done, they called me in the room. She was a bit fussy, but within an hour, she was back to normal.

All in all, it was fine. I checked with my pediatrician before going ahead and he said it was ok. It was the best option for us.

Good luck!

amother

Wed, Mar 07 2012, 9:00 pm

OP here- thanks all... I'm just so stressed n nervous about this I can't even sleep! I guess just afraid of how shell react/ if shell cry a lot or realize what's going on... I know it's just a cavity but I don't want her to have a traumatic experience... I'm not allowed back there either so I hope she's not crying for me the whole time...