Let’s face it, a trip to the dentist can be scary for children since they don’t usually understand what’s going on. To help put your child at ease and minimize anxiety, the team of dentists at Perfect Dental Care in New York, New York provides sedation dentistry to improve the dental care experience, allowing children to get the quality dental care they need. To learn more, call or book an appointment online.
For years the dental world has turned to nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, to ease anxiety and pain among its patients. At Upper East Pediatric Dentistry in Manhattan in New York City, the doctors understand that a trip to the dentist can cause anxiety and fear among younger patients, which is why they provide this safe and effective sedation technique. To see if laughing gas is right for your child, call or book an appointment online.
Sedation dentistry is a technique used to help your child relax during a dental treatment. If your child has high levels of anxiety or can't cooperate while in the dental chair, the dentists at Perfect Dental Care offer medications to reduce their discomfort or anxiety. Sedation dentistry is different from anesthesia because it doesn’t render your child unconscious or unresponsive. A variety of medications are used for sedation of varying degrees, from mild sedation that merely relaxes your child to a more moderate medication that makes your child drowsy.
After discussing your child’s specific needs and the nature of the procedure with you, the dentists recommend the best selection.
Sedation dentistry is used to ensure the safety and comfort of young patients who suffer from anxiety. It’s also ideal for children who are too young to understand what’s happening and, understandably, don’t cooperate in the chair as a result. In addition to improving your child’s experience, sedation dentistry helps your child to relax and prevents fidgeting or sudden movements that can make a dental procedure challenging.
The dentists at Upper East Pediatric Dentistry are trained and experienced in using sedation services to help their young patients feel comfortable. They strictly adhere to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry guidelines, which are designed to ensure the safety and wellbeing of your child. The dental team discusses the options with you beforehand to ensure that you understand both the medications and the procedure so that you make an informed decision.
After treatment, you and your child may need to wait at the office until the sedation wears off and the dentist is satisfied that your child is stable and ready to go. Children recover at different rates, so there’s no average recovery time. Once you go home, you’ll need to keep an eye on your child until he or she is fully recovered from the sedation medication. The team at Perfect Dental Care provides you with specific aftercare instructions related to the dental work and the sedation.
Laughing gas is a combination of two gases — nitrous oxide and oxygen — that’s administered to your child through a fitted mask and tubing. The gas combination relaxes your child and creates a sense of positive wellbeing.
In fact, some people experience a feeling of euphoria or giddiness, which is why nitrous oxide is called laughing gas. Laughing gas is also known to increase pain tolerance, which makes it a useful option in sedation dentistry.
Laughing gas is one of the most reliable forms of sedation available. Here are some of its benefits:
It’s fast acting and well-tolerated
It’s easily adjusted throughout the procedure
It wears off quickly when the mask is removed
In fact, children under the influence of laughing gas are fully conscious, maintaining all their natural reflexes, and they’re able to answer questions and understand instructions.
Your child shouldn’t eat for at least two hours before the appointment because laughing gas can occasionally cause nausea or vomiting in patients with a full stomach. Also, make sure the dentist is aware in advance of any medications or supplements your child is taking in case they might interfere with the gas.
If your child has any respiratory conditions that make breathing through the nose difficult, be sure to discuss those conditions with the dentist in advance. Also, if your child has an intense anxiety or aversion to wearing the nasal mask, the team at Perfect Dental Care explores other sedation options with you to find one that’s more appropriate.
The goal at Perfect Dental Care is the safety and comfort of its young patients, and they work with you to find the most effective option for your child. To learn more, call or book an appointment online.