Advice on Dental Surgery

My son (at the same age & weight) had his tonsils removed- I was much more afraid than he was. Bring a stuffed animal or blanket he loves and be there when he goes out & when he wakes up. Don't go into too much of an explanation either- remember how time passes while under anesthetic.
I was amazed at how well my little one handled it! They're a lot tougher than we give them credit for.

I have to wonder... why is he having dental surgery at 3 1/2? I would have many questions in the process of deciding this. However, it sounds like you are beyond that point. One thing to remember, though I know it is difficult, is that children are very keyed-in to your emotions... they can sense anxiety. Try to put out an ere of confidence and support. If you treat the hospital atmosphere as scary, he will see it that way and vice versa.
I would love to help with your recovery question, but I have no idea what surgery he is having. Children are very resilient, and if you have any questions at all I'm sure the surgeon will be happy to answer them for you.
Take care...

When my 2 yr old son went for his surgery, all I could do was be there. I requested that I be there when he woke up, and it seemed to help as he was coming out of anesthetic to have mommy holding his hand. After that you just have to do the best you can with whatever pain he feel. For my son it was his hip, our issues were with walking and diaper changes. I am not sure our to help with eating ect... but maybe your surgeon will have some advice.

My son went thru the same thing when he was 2. His teeth came in decayed and he needed 4 caps and 8 fillings. The hospital staff was wonderful. He was checked into a room that was stocked with toys, which I think helped make him comfortable. Before his surgery we bought him a book about visiting the dentist and then we bought him a stuffed animal that was waiting for him when he came back to the room. He was a little groggy but was able to go home a couple hours after his surgery. The surgery didn't seem to have any permanent effect on him.

As someone who worked in dentistry for 12 years & for 3/5 in oral surgery offices, don't worry. Your grandchild will be fine. But yes, kids do come out of anesthesia crying, screaming, kicking....it's just their little bodies react differently. Don't be too alarmed; it's natural.

Also, kids heal REALLY fast, so it will be a breeze compared to an adult. They bounce back quickly...often the hardest part is keeping them calm for a day or two!

R., we went through the same thing with our then-three-year-old. After listening to our pediatric dentist explain what was needed and why ansthesia was necessary, I talked to our pediatrician. If your grandson is in the hospital (we went to Emanuel), he will likely be under the care of a pediatric anesthesiologist. I was nervous and more than a little anxious over the whole thing, but my fears were unfounded. Joey came out of it fine with pretty new teeth. We were so impressed with the whole system set up for kids having dental surgery. Now, if a dentist wants to do this type of procedure in his or her office, run as fast as you can to another dentist. I wish you and your grandson well. He'll be just fine. (PS: he's lucky to have a grandma who cares.)

My 21 m/o son had to have a hernia repaired ~ I know, different end of the body than yours! :)
Wanted to let you know about things we learned from the nurses! Sugar water or Kayro syrup on the roof of the mouth or dipped on a binky is just as good for pain relief as narcotics in babies and when little ones come out of anestesia they get some sort of delirium - they get dehydrated and their sugars are out of balance and have trouble focusing their eyes - so they wake up very scared and 'out of whack'......our nurses gave him apple juice right away and even though he was still out of it, that made a huge improvement! I know you asked for reassuring thoughts, but I sure wish somebody had told us ahead of time that he would react that way so we didn't get so freaked out!! Good luck, he will do great!

My niece had to have dental surgery when she was about 2 1/2-3 years old.. She tripped and fell down a set of steps knocking her teeth in the process. The enamel on the front teeth got chipped in a couple spots, but as she didnt get hurt in any other way, we didnt really think of the consequenses of it... Her teeth soon became rotted and she had to have all four front teeth pulled.

She went in to a special childrens dentist for the surgery and came out fine, she was able to go home that same day. Yes it was a little sore, like any normal dental work, but she was just fine and had no big issues.

I know that it is scary for a young kid to have to go through it, but just explain to your grandson that they will fix his teeth (or mouth) and that he will be ok. If it is made out to be a frightening thing that he should be fearful of, then yes, he is going to fight you. Just reassure him and dont make it seem like a horrible, scary experience. No doubt about it he is going to be scared, but if you just give him positive encouragement then he should be ok.....

Good luck!!! S.

My 4 year old had dental surgery last fall. We tried to get him excited about having his mouth "fixed." We told him that we would buy a new book before the surgery so that we could read it when we went home... Essentially we tried to divert his attention as best as we could.
One thing to note.. we did not know how he would react after surgery and we were shocked. My son is about the same size and he was very agitated and hysterical after the surgery. It was a horrible 45 minutes.. He wet his pants and tried to pull the needle out of his arm. We couldn't console him.
I have heard that this is a common side effect with anesthesia in children. On the chance that your grandson reacts like this, it would be easier to know it might happen.
The plus side was, he was only in mild pain from his mouth for about 2 days!

My daughter had dental surgery when she was just barely 2, i also was very nervous about this but it all turned out fine. She had 4 teeth capped and 1 removed. she is now 10 years old and has been seeing a dentist regularly since she was 2. i hated the dentist as a child but my daughter is now the exact oppisite, she loves the dentist. i attribute this to her early exposure to the dentist, she has no fear. She now wears braces and has GREAT teeth. i understand your concern but i really think things will be ok. I highly recommend the pediatrci dental office in North Albany, Dr. Drew, She is the GREATEST. That is who fixed my daughters teeth and si still her dentist. the cool thing about this place is that if you start your kids there they can continue to be seen in this office no matter how old they get. I also know several people who go to this office and i have never heard anyhting but good things from all of them. Good Luck!!

I was a pediatric dental assistant, and I've assisted with a few General anesthesia cases. I just want you to know that he's completely safe and that everything is well calculated for his age/ size/ weight. Don't overhype the situation for him. Act as if it's just a regular visit, and make is a positive/ happy day for him. He's not going to remember anything, because the medicine have a calming/ amnesia effect... if he's even going to remember anything... it's just be when he's blowing/ inhaling the air. And sometimes they don't even remember that. After the surgery, sometimes the kids become irritated, crying or screaming... don't be alarm, it's normal.... it's because they are dazed and confused on where they are and what just happened to them. Some recovers just fine.... Either way, he's going to be ok. After that, make sure that you keep up with brushing and flossing, and avoid milk/sugars or feeding before bed. Good luck and take care.... M.

My son (and soon my daughter) have gone through the exact same thing. With my boy they put caps on two teeth and filled in 13 fillings. He found the hospital a little scary but they let me stay with him for as long as possible. They gave him something to drink that makes them sleepy so that they can put in the IV. It was a challenge to get my son to drink it because at the time he hated taking any medicine at all. Despite all of that nervousness he has absolutely no memory of the entire thing. I should also let you know that kids don't always come out of the anesthesia easily, it took a couple hours for him to get with it, most of that time was in my arms sobbing in his sleep. Still no memories of it and we havne't had a cavity since and he is now 6-1/2!!

Good luck, it will be fine.

Hi R.! I would play up the stay at the hospital to being special! Like that he gets to pick what he wants to eat, and that he gets nurses and doctors all to himself! And maybe you can give him something special like a gift he can look forward to that is waiting for him in his hospital room? You can have it waiting for him when he gets there. And then of course I would make sure the nurse he gets is good with kids. You would think pediatric nurses would be, but I have seen some that aren't! He will also play off of your fears, so be brave and cheerful about the situation, and he will follow your lead!

Hello, my name is M.. I also had the same experience, my daughter was three when she had to go under and have several of her teeth worked on and I was very scared because I have been under, and waking up was the hard part. You feel like you can't move but your awake, very weard feeling like your hole body has gone to sleep not just a leg or arm. The ony thing you can do is to try not to show that you are stressed because they can sence that, and be there right when they come to so you can hold them while they are going through the prosses of waking up. I wish I had some better advice to make all the stress and pain go away but that is how I handled it and she did just fine.
Best of luck,
M. P.S. Let me know how it goes.

My daughter had a similar proceedure done when she was almost three. She needed extensive dental work and had a fear of people; so her dentist and I felt the hospital proceedure was best. The dentist was able to do all of her dental work and she did not have any trauma from the experience.
This is the best way; I feel; to deal with extensive dental work with small children. This proceedure is safe. We went to Emanuel hospital for this and the staff there was fantastic; they made my daughter and I feel quite special. After we got home my daughter had to wait a small amount of time to eat, because of fillings and such, but other than children's Ibuprofen the first day she did not have any discomfort or negative side effects from the dental surgery.
I wish your grandson the best. This is really the best way to deal with extensive dental work in small children; they have less trauma and have a positive relationship with their dentist form then on (hopefully.

Good morning.
My son is scheduled for a sleep study soon (he's 5.5). I have arranged for him to take a tour a couple days ahead of time so he can meet everyone and see where he will be having his "sleep over". Maybe you could try something like that. I know he is young - but a visit would make the facility somewhat familiar.
Also - I work for a health insurance company - while dental surgery on one so young may not be the norm, it is NOT unusual and I have not heard of any adverse reactions or anything bad happening in my years with the company.

My daughter had to go under to get some work done on her teeth when she was 5. It was VERY h*** o* me. I was so scared for her, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The hospital we went to did a VERY good job. They had little kid rooms with tvs. They gave her a cute little pillow that she could take home with her and tried to make her as comfortable as they could. We brought one of her favorite stuffed animals that she got to take with her in the operating room. We had to get her to drink some stuff that made her a little sleepy so they could take her away and put her under. This stuff also made her not remember the part where they took her from us, which was good, cause I was really worried about that part. It went by pretty fast and she came out a little cranky, but just a little bit later we were taking her home and she was ready to play!I was very surprised on the recovery time and how quickly it was. I think it was harder on me and my husband!..lol...But I do feel for you all and I know that he will be fine. But I also know that no matter what you worry because we just love them SO much! So just put on the best happy face for him and try and not be scared so he won't feel all of you being worried.

Hi R.,
My 3 1/2 yr old nephew just had a dental surgery done at our local hospital under anesthesia two weeks ago. He did beautifully through the surgery even though his pediatrician wasn't 100% on board with the whole anesthesia idea due to his weight.
He came out of anesthesia and was fine - just said he "wanted his teeth out". We kept a variety of soft foods on hand, Jello, Pudding, Yogurt. By far his favorite was mashed potatoes and gravy from KFC.
Usually hospitals are pretty good with kids, making it not so rushed and scary, but bring a few things from home so when he comes out of surgery he has familiar items. Ie. blanket, favorite stuffed animal, toy or book.
He did pretty good after he was released (he was released that day from the hospital). THe only thing I noticed was that he was pretty good as long as he had a distraction- played with my son and was acting like his normal self. But when it got later in the evening and he started winding down to go to bed or got tired, he would scream and cry (which he never does). I finally talked his mom into giving him the pain meds the doc had prescribed. I'm overall against meds, but I feel it's a bit different with surgery and he was obviously in pain. Once she did that he was fine.
Good luck to you and HUGS for you and your grandson!
Give him lots of Grandma hugs and kisses - that makes everything better, right?

Hi R.,

My youngest had to be "put under" for oral surgery when she was 4. She went to Mary Bridge, and they were wonderful. I was really apprehensive about the whole thing(mainly about *her* being scared, ironically), and I really wanted to go back with her and observe, but they didn't let parents go past a certain point. She was accompanied by a wonderful nurse though, and they let her take her "blankey" and the stuffed animal she carried around with her at the time back with her, and to my pleasant suprise, she didn't cry when she went back, and was very brave. Thankfully it didn't take long for the anesthesia to take effect for her.

When she came out, she was very groggy, and sick to her stomach, but after a few hours, those symptoms wore off, and she was allowed to go home. While we waited in a regular hospital room, she was allowed to watch tv, have posicles, and they gave her a cute teddy that she was able to take home with her along with a certificate of how brave she was.

She still remembers the experience, but she wasn't traumatized by it, and wasn't in any great pain afterwards.

I'd say it's probably worse on us adults than it is on them, and as long as you are brave for them, they won't sense the fear in you, and be fearful themselves. Hopefully the hospital staff is as awesome for you as they were for us.

Good luck!

K. W

R.,

I haven't had to go through anything like this, but I do have some general advice.

Try to stay calm and not make a huge deal about it (easier said than done I imagine). Let him know that he is loved, and that everything will be fine. Maybe have a new stuffed animal/special something that he gets after the surgery for "being so brave".

Children so very often take their cues from the grown-ups around them. So many times I've seen my own two (4 1/2 years and 13 months) take spills and look to me to see if I'm flipping out or not. They really weren't sure how to react to the falling, but wanted to see what mom was doing do see if they needed to make a big fuss or not. When I looked at them calmly, or laughed, the got up and kept going like nothing was wrong.

Love him, hug him, let him know everything will be fine (and try to believe it yourself, at least somewhat).

Hope this helps,
supportively,
Melissa

My son had tons of surgeries before he was eight...what worked best with him was a calm, guided tour of the area previous to the surgery...meeting the nice nurses and doctors that would help him, seeing how cheerful the child-friendly recovery room was...once it wasn't a strange place to him, he was okay with things. Good luck to the little guy, hope he feels better soon.

Why are you assuming that the hospital scene will be frightening? My granddaughter finds the equipment and the rooms exciting. She wants to try out all the things that the doctor will be using on her. Her pediatrician lets her do that. Yes, he may be frightened at being in a place he hasn't been before and when he's in pain. Your calm reassuring presence will help with that. We cannot always protect our loved ones from pain. In this instance we know that this surgery is happening so that he will feel better after the pain is gone. Focusing on the positive aspects will help you help him be more calm.

My granddaughter, at 4, was hospitalized after being seen in the ER with an asthma attack. I was allowed to stay with her the entire time
(She had been to a different ER a couple of times before that and never seemed fearful.)

In the hospital I was always with her. I slept on a rollaway. She was fine. She did crawl into bed with me sometime during the night. When the nurse saw us she smile. Family involvement is encouraged now a days.

Staff was very supportive of both of us. She was in the Peds section. I don't know if your grandson will be in Peds but even if he isn't I've noticed that hospital staff are really tuned into kids; sometimes more than adults.

I've had several surgeries as an adult. The last time was about 5 years ago. When I recovered from the anesthesia I didn't even remember being in the recovery room. I woke up in the ICU and was transferred to a room within an hour because I was alert. I was also pain free. The pain came later. They have tremendously effective drugs now.

You might be less anxious if you talked with the surgeon about his experience in this sort of situation and how you can help your grandson. A nurse may be better able to help you know how to deal with your emotional reaction to his surgery.

I'm also a grandmother and know that often grandparents are left out of the process. If the parents have already been given this info perhaps they could tell you what the surgeon said. Or give him/her permission to talk with you.

If he's in good health, except for a problem with his teeth, being small in size may not affect the surgery. He is small enough that I wonder if he's in poor health. I do wonder if his really small size is related to his need for surgery and so there are other health issues. If he's not feeling well he will continue to be cranky and complaining but perhaps more so than at home. His pediatrician or surgeon should be able to talk this over with you.

Most doctors want to help parents understand what will be happening and aleve their anxiety as much as possible.

As Julie has said, a very important part of this process is for you to be calm and positive about the experience when you're around your grandchild. If you view hospitals as scary your grandson will pick up on your anxiety. Also, don't tell him things such as "this is going to hurt" ahead of time. The staff will tell him if something is going to hurt and give him information at the most helpful time. They know how to do that. You're there to be reassuring: not the person who brings bad news. You're there to be your grandson's support person which means that you help him deal with his needs without getting yours mixed up with his.

He needs to feel that you are confident that he is in the right place having the right thing done and that everyone involved will be OK. I've seen kids relaxed until their parent's walked in with fear on their face and tears running down their cheeks. Remember kids who have no previous negative experience with hospitals will most likely not see them as fearful unless they've been told by action or facial expression and tension that the hospital is a fearful place.

This must be painful for you, especially if you're not his main caregiver and are getting information second hand. I'm glad that you are asking how to help your grandson.

Perhaps one thing that you could do to reassure yourself about the hospital is to visit it. With permission, you may be able to see where your grandson will most likely be before and surgery. If he wants to know about the hospital you could then tell him that you were there, and you think it's a great place for him to be right now.