putting kid to sleep for cavities @ dentist

mom07

Wed, Mar 12 2008, 10:11 pm

my 4 yr. old has 5 cavities and dentist wants to put her to sleep to fix them. I am not so happy about it and am thinking of switching to a dentist who will do it without putting her out. On the other hand I dont know if she'll be able to sit for so long...do any of you have experience with this?

amother

Wed, Mar 12 2008, 10:13 pm

I know you probably are not looking for this type of response, but, why does a 4 year old have 5 cavities? Does she sleep with a lollipop?

You are not allowed to post these types of comments under Amother.
-mod3

raizy

Wed, Mar 12 2008, 10:18 pm

I had two kids who were put two sleep for dental work...

no they dont sleep with lollypop. unfourtunely they have their dad for their genitic makeup for their teeth. and he has really awful teeth.... I pay rent to my dentist every month.and his whole family has awfull teeth...

why couldnt they take my genitic makeup for teeth???

yes I say put to sleep and get it over in one time. a little kid cant sit for too long and wont let him give a needle in the mouth... I tried that with my son I even bribed him with 6 dollars. it didnt work.. I wasted mony on taxis... a lesson well learned.I will send my dh next time. and he will be put to sleep...

mom07

Wed, Mar 12 2008, 10:28 pm

amother wrote:

I know you probably are not looking for this type of response, but, why does a 4 year old have 5 cavities? Does she sleep with a lollipop?

LOL I dont have any candies in my house! -- I am very health conscious. The only candies that my kids eat are not from me. I think it might have to do with the fact that we lived in Israel and there is no chlorine in the water there - just a guess b/c really I have no idea why - there is no reason why she should have so many cavities

SingALong

Wed, Mar 12 2008, 10:33 pm

yeh my DD of 3 years had 4 rotten teeth and 2 cavities. tons of work, like 2 hours had to be done. the first dentist I saw refused to put her out cuz he had a friend who worked on a kid who died and now he wont do it. but he also didnt want to fix her teeth only pull them out.
the next dentist I saw said he will clean and fill teeth no problem, and he sedated her with a drink and laughing gas. its not total anestesia. it relaxed her enough to put her to sleep while he worked. seh also needed to be in a strait jacket since she fought everyone and didnt want to be worked on. for us sedation was the only way to have her teeth fixed nicely, otherwise we would have had to pull them out.

I guess that if your kid is the type to lie still and be worked on, do one cavity at a time or something, break up the visits so he needs to sit for shorter periods of time, and then maybe oyu wont need the sedation/laughing gas.
good luck

tovasmom

Wed, Mar 12 2008, 11:30 pm

My kids also have inherited dh's teeth which means they all have weak enamel and a predisposition to get cavities from a very young age, even before candy. So each one of them has a teeth full of fillings, down to the four year old. And did I mention that they also inherited dh's propensity to be a terrible, nervous, wacko patient. So dental work for them (and there has been lots) is a real challenge. The first pediatric dentist did work on my older dd and older ds using the conscious sedation (like a twilight effect) with the nitrous oxide (laughing gas) with OK results. He does not want to do general -- there is too much risk involved and he does not have an anesthesiologist with him in his office. The kids were ok, but the work required a whole day off from school (and work for me) since the patient needs to be monitored for at least 12 hours after he gets home from the work. It is good because everything can be done in one sitting with the sedation. Our new pediatric dentist is more slow and patient and has managed to get the work done with nitrous only and by calming the kids -- and repeat, my kids are wacko patients. So sometimes it may be a matter of patience

Mama Bear

Wed, Mar 12 2008, 11:48 pm

are you talking about anesthesia or laughing gas? I'd be skittish about anesthesia but am all fo rlaughing gas, that way the kid is sedated but not out, and the dentist doesnt have to be busy keeping the kid occupied and happy. a 4 yr old does NOT like keeping her mouth open for half an hour and being poked inside!

ss321

Thu, Mar 13 2008, 8:26 am

amother wrote:

I know you probably are not looking for this type of response, but, why does a 4 year old have 5 cavities? Does she sleep with a lollipop?

this comment is just so wrong and insensitive. a, if she DOES give her kids candies, thats not something to be "berated" for. this isnt some "natural parneting" thread about not eating processed sugars or food colording. but b, unfortunately cavities arent "just" about how much candy one ingests.
Seriously. and also, if all you have are mean comments, why make them annonymously?

Ruchel

Thu, Mar 13 2008, 9:01 am

let's face it most people give candies, eat food colouring and processed whatever. I would even say, the ultra frum more than others, because
- bio is EXPENSIVE
- if you hold by many ultra Orthodox rabbis, they'll say you shouldn't go by ingredients like the Orthodox, but have EVERYTHING with a hechsher. Well, try to find bio food with a hechsher... maybe you'll find one or two products per category... that is, if you live in the very heart of a huge community, because in most others... nothing. You know why? because frum people in general aren't interested.

shalhevet

Thu, Mar 13 2008, 9:01 am

A four year old who is not spoilt can sit for a while, especially if you help to distract them, and if the dentist is child-friendly. A four year old is not a two year old.

I would never give a general anasthetic if it can possibly be avoided. It carries a tiny risk, and people have died from it. If there's no choice, then there's no choice, but if there's another way of doing it I would certainly take it, even if it takes more trouble and time.

mod3

Thu, Mar 13 2008, 9:06 am

amother wrote:

I know you probably are not looking for this type of response, but, why does a 4 year old have 5 cavities? Does she sleep with a lollipop?

You are not allowed to post these types of comments under Amother.
-mod3

chocolate moose

Thu, Mar 13 2008, 10:14 am

As kids, Novicane was an extra charge and we never had it.

I had a kid who needed extensive dental work on baby teeth - every Sunday for the whole summer - and he had Novicane as I figured "it's a new generation" but being put to sleep has risks, doen't it?

Are you sure it's wroth it for baby teeth?

ss321

Thu, Mar 13 2008, 1:14 pm

shalhevet wrote:

I would never give a general anasthetic if it can possibly be avoided. It carries a tiny risk, and people have died from it. If there's no choice, then there's no choice, but if there's another way of doing it I would certainly take it.

definitely agree with this. but I think it also depends on the kid. if were talking about a 12 year old I would say, let them "deal with it." but a young child could be traumatized for years, if theyre the type who is terrified of the dentist, etc, and are "forced" to be "trapped" in that chair while someone usees all these scary looking sounding and feeling tools on them for hours on end. So I think it depends on how complacent a kid youre dealing with, how patient they are, and if the dentist is already a "stigmatized" "scary" experience to them, or if it somewhere they go and get toys on their way out, as well as a new toothbrush...really depends...

ChavieK

Thu, Mar 13 2008, 1:32 pm

I had one who at 5 years needed 3 partial rootcanals. Btw he doesn't really care for candy & is good about brushing. We went to a ped dentist who had video in the ceiling & ds did great. My bro, who is our dentist, said we should try to bribe ds to go to him b/c the cost was outrageous. We did & we made a deal that he could scream as much as he wanted but couldn't move. Ds did great. The ped dentist also suggested puttign him under & I could not see doing that. I could see light sedation, just like adults have to have wisdom teeth removed.

Sparkle

Thu, Mar 13 2008, 1:39 pm

Quote:

A four year old who is not spoilt can sit for a while, especially if you help to distract them, and if the dentist is child-friendly. A four year old is not a two year old.

Shalhevet, this just isn't true. My 4 year old needs some dental work. He is quite hyper and super sensitive to a/t that touches him. He is NOT spoiled.

He will have a hard time getting cavities filled. I agree with you about the anasthetic and we are looking for other options. But to imply that a)I am a bad mother and b)my son is spoiled rotten b/c he can't sit is just not right.

Helani

Thu, Mar 13 2008, 5:42 pm

My four year old had a root canal started with laughing gas and she was struggling so much they said next time they want to use general. Now we're waiting for appointment to another doctor who is known to be excellent with kids in hopes to avoid general. it does carry small risk.

qeenB

Sat, Mar 15 2008, 10:52 pm

one of my kids needed a few cavities filled. the dentist did it in 2 sessions and he did the easier ones first. my son was not happy but I took him after for some toys. but I would not use general anastisia for something like this. I used to take my younger siblings to the dentist and there were numerous occasions that I held them on the chair and the dentist did what he needed to do. if you can find a good pediatric dentist it helps because they are usually fast and experienced with little kids.

amother

Sat, Mar 15 2008, 11:08 pm

I wish I could find a dentist that could put ADULTS to sleep. After a seriously traumatic experience at the dentist I would never do dental work again unless I am completely unaware, no matter what it takes! It is so traumitizing to a person, that if you could reduce the trauma in any way, I'd say look into the most safe way, but don't let your child be scarred for life and not ever want to go to the dentist. I know this is a very different view, but I will just tell you that with a mouthful of dental work needed and yissurim when I eat, I WILL NOT GO BACK EVEN IF SOMEONE TIED ME UP AND DRAGGED ME THERE!!!

nana18

Sun, Mar 16 2008, 3:53 am

There is a medicine like valium that the kids could have which is not general antehesia. Of course it's better to keep them off of medicine but there are many factors involved when deciding whats best. My doctor told me that as long as someone is watching the childs oxygen level (on his finger) it is ok to have the medecine. I don't think there are any risks to Laughing gas but its also not as effective