Child Needs Cavities Removed. Do I Sedate Her?

my son had that done when he was 6yrs old, only they sedated him w/"laughing gas" & i was able to be present (in the room holding his hand) the ENTIRE TIME. he was fine & for months would ask if he could go back again! haha i think he liked the laughing gas a bit too much! also, this dental facility had a t.v. on the ceiling so he could watch a movie while they were working on him. i believe they were located in west covina, calif. if you're interested. good luck to you

My daughter (21 months) recently had 3 fillings done. She unfortunately is too young to go the non-sedation route. Our denstist also used UCLA docs, all went well. If my daughter had been older and I had the choice not to sedate, that would be my choice. I did of course consult the pediatrician before the decision to procede, and basically was told it was that sedation would be the only way because of the age. Your daughter is older and there maybe more options. Based on our experience, we were told it had to be general anesthesia because children don't twilight sleep. There are side effects such as, vomiting, slow to come out of the lethargic phase, cotton mouth feeling, it took several hours for my daughter to be able to walk, and even longer to sweat. It was a hot day she had her procedure and the air conditioner out of service. (If your daughter also requires general anesthesia, there will be the usual pre-procedure instructions; nothing to eat or drink the night before. So be sure to get an early appointment. I was not told this and had a hard time making the 3:30pm appointment without food or drink.)
Seek more options, unless you don't think your daughter is able to handle the multiple dental visits. You need to consider her outlook, because you certainly don't want this experience to set the tone for her future dental visits. Good luck.

When my daughter was 5 she also needed cavities filled. (She's now almost 8 and still has not lost the teeth that needed filling, so yes, it was necessary.) She was terrified when we tried the mild sedation route and completely flipped out. It was awful and she still remembers it. We had no choice but to do full anesthesia to get the job done. And yes, I won't lie, it was very scary. I couldn't even go in with her. My husband did while I stayed in the waiting room. But you have to do what you have to do, and as long as you are confident in your dentist and the anesthesiologist, then you just do it and will be grateful afterward when all is well and your child's teeth are in good shape. And then get a good fluoride rinse to use every single night after brushing. No cavities since! Good luck.

I just sedated my child, who is 5 for 3 cavities and I am so glad I did. She was not happy to visit the dentist and even xrays scared her. I wanted her to have no memory of cavities and to not dread future dentist visits.

I was not prepared to watch my child go under. They gave her a shot and she soon became week, lethargic and her eyes were lolling around in her head. I almost threw up, it freaked me out. That being said the asisstant sent me to the waiting room which was a good idea.

It was worth it but I would have liked to have been more prepared to see my child go unconscious. The recovery took a long time for her, even in the car ride home she was so out of it. I would consider bringing a girlfriend or supportive person.

I see Dr. Kirshbaum in Encino ###-###-####.

S.

If she were my child, depending upon how bad the cavities are, I would go for sedation - it is far less traumatic. You also have to look at your child's pain tolerance level. I had to have 8 teeth pulled when I was in the 3rd grade so that I could get braces. Having the teeth pulled out with only Novicane was one of the worst experiences of my life and I have never forgotten it! However, when I was a teenager and had to get my impacted wisdom teeth out, I was given a mild sedation and the experience wasn't unpleasant at all!

My own daughter was supposed to have teeth pulled when she was around this age because her baby teeth didn't come out like they were supposed to, so her permanent teeth were coming in wrong. We were not offered sedation and my daughter screamed so much that the dentist refused to work on her and kicked us out of her office. My daughter had to wait until she was an adult to get the teeth out, after her permanent teeth came in all crooked.

If you do decide not to go with sedation, be sure that you explain things to her first - like she will just feel a little prick like a pin or get some books from the library. (Mr. Rogers had a whole series of books on just about anything a kid could go through.) You can also show her your own fillings so she can see that it didn't hurt you to have them.

My son needed a root canal and additional fillings last summer, just after he turned six. We had to go to a pediatric dentist. We did not go for full-on sedation, as the notion of that freaks me out. My son got his fillings over two sessions. Now, this is a boy who needs three grown ups to hold him down just for a flu shot, but he had no idea he even had a novocaine shot, which is testimony to the skill of our pediatric dentist.

Admittedly, we bribed our son with a trip to Target to pick out a toy afterwards. Both trips to our dentist were so pleasant, that my son looks forward to going!

Good luck!

Is the dentist a pediatric dentist. My daughter had a couple of small cavities, but they were able to just "buff" them out at the ped dentist. When I was young I needed a ton of dental work. They did like they are proposing for your dd. Take care of it in a few trips without sedation. The first time I was petrified. It was the worst experience (the big scary, painful needle). The next trip in, I refused to open my mouth. No way were they doing that again! Thats when they sent me to a specialist an hour away. They gave me something to drink before we left for the office, then something to drink once we got there. The next thing I knew they were calling my name, trying to wake me up. It was great! I dont know if they gave me an iv while I was asleep or not.

My point is, eventhough the sedation is scary, you may be setting her up to be petrified to go to the dentist for the rest of her life. If there are no other tricks the child experts can try, I'd go for the sedation.

J.

I would do the repeat visits....thay have to eventually see what it is really like at the dentist. I could go on for hours about pediatric/child dentistry (if I ever hear the words baby root canal again I might go postal)....I had to take my son(he too is 5) to a non-profit organization we found through our school district to find a wonderful dentist for my him. She does not believe in any type of sedation for children's dental work and my son LOVES her!!! He went twice this month to get 3 cavities filled ....the second time she didn't even numb him.....She is Amazing!!!
This is supposed to be their specialty...Childrens Dentistry...I don't see why they have to put children to sleep or give them a sedative(dope them up) and gas to fill tiny little cavities.
GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Hi T.. We had a similar dilemma with my 2.5 year old baby daughter. The dentist wanted to do a baby root canal right away. Our pediatrician advised us to seek other opinions. We went to a couple of different dentists and found the best and absolutely right one for us. His name is Dr.Smith. His number is ###-###-####. Please seek a second or third opinion. We were also told by a friend's dentist that too many new and young dentists are too quick to do procedures that are not necessary. There's no hurry. Seek another opinion. Basically, with our daughter, Dr. Smith did not thing a baby root canal is necessary. We just have to monitor the cavity more closely, avoid sweets and brush the teeth as often (especialy floss) as possible and before bed without fail. There's just too many side effects and you don't want to regret making a decision that might cause harm to your child's health in the future. Good luck!

My 5 year old had cavities and we initially tried to fill them without sedation. He did well with numbing (fortunately has no fear of injections) but the sound from the drill freaked him out. We had brought music for him to listen to but it didn't work. We did the sedation and it was no problem. I suggest going that route. We carefully checked the anesthesiologist's credential and my dentist highly recommended him. He was great and explained to me everything that would happen. I wasn't surprised when his eyes stayed open while he got lethargic and sleepy. Even with this knowledge I still cried and the dental assistant was waiting for me with a tissue and a hug. My son slept through the rest of the day and night, and woke up the next morning with no issues at all.

It can be scary, but more so for you then her. This may be a more positive experience for your daughter that will make her less afraid of going to the dentist in the future.

Good luck!

I can definately relate to your situation; I encountered a very similar situation with my 2 year old son. I heard many horror stories; even from my own familiy members of their children being strapped down for local anastesia to be administered and the work to be done. So after doing research and actually visitig the dental office on my lunch break from work to see this "restraint system" that is used; My chioce crystal clear; We would sedate. I will admit it was a little scary after the procedure to see my usually active 2 year old vey groggy and unable to walk and appearing totally incohearant but after about an hour he was fine and had no memory of the procedure. So in the end my son had the work done and now loves the dentist becasuse he had a very positive experience. I would definately take the same route and would advise other parents to do the same. Our dental office also used an anastesiologist from UCLA Medical Center and he was very knowledgable and experienced as well. The dental office I used has also been doing pediatriac sedation for over 25 years. They were a god-send to our family! They also strongly urged our family not to use the oral liquid sedation that is commonly used with toddlers and small children because it is very dangerous and has been proven to have caused many cases of brain damage; the dental office had numerous newspaper articles of these recent instances for parents to read. My advice is to research and be informed and go with experienced doctors and if you want you child to have a positive dental experience and not associate the dentist with PAIN then sedation is a great choice. I wish your family all the best!!

my 4 year old daughter had cavities and the dentist gave her a shot with local anesthesia and she was fine. the only thing is that she kept messing with the spot where the shot was given and it became irritated, but never painful. also, my daughter loves going to the dentist and has never had a problem going to the dentist. if possible, make sure they use porcelain fillings; you can't tell they are there.