Sedation Dentistry Helping Dentists Treat Children Effectively And Calmly

Everyone fears dental visits, and children are not an exception. Unfortunately, children confront many dental issues needing treatments from the pediatric dentist near you to preserve their baby teeth and overall health. Children are noncooperative even with a pediatric dentist they have been visiting for quite some time. Treating an issue like dental cavities in children can make even the pediatric dentist anxious, wondering how to calm the child when providing the required treatments.

Pediatric dentistry has advanced significantly ever since its introduction. Pediatric dentists have developed innovative methods to treat children by giving them sedation dentistry in Houston, TX, whenever they need intensive treatments. Sedation dentistry near me is useful and safe for children so long as the sedation is handled by a professional. Pediatric dentist Houston, TX acquire additional education and training after graduating from dental school dealing with children of all ages, including those with special needs. They are qualified to administer sedation dentistry to children to provide challenging treatments that otherwise are impossible.

What Kind of Sedation Do Children Receive?

The kind of sedation children receive depends on the procedure they are required to undergo. If you take your child to the pediatric dentist near you to receive dental sealants near you for preventing dental cavities, the child is likely to receive nitrous oxide, also called laughing gas.

Nitrous oxide sedation combines oxygen with nitrous oxide for delivery to your child via a nasal mask. The gas helps your child to relax while spreading a euphoric feeling through their body. For light procedures like applying dental sealants, nitrous oxide is an excellent solution. Dental sealant application only requires a few minutes, causing no pain or discomfort. However, your child must cooperate with the dentist remaining seated in the dentist’s chair with their mouths open, allowing the pediatric dentist to perform the procedure appropriately.

If your child already has a cavity, the treatment procedure is intensive and requires drilling to remove tooth decay before placing a filling. In such cases, your child receives a combination of nitrous oxide and a small quantity of oral medicine to swallow, helping to calm them. The oral sedative will not make your child unconscious but allows them to remain calm during lengthy procedures. Your child will not realize when local anesthesia was delivered in their mouths to numb their teeth and gums. The sedative helps dentists work calmly to complete the treatment in one appointment. Your child can leave the dentist’s chair feeling they only spent a few minutes when the filling procedure may have taken 45 minutes.

Are Oral and Inhalation Sedation the Only Methods Available for Children?

Many children have severe tooth decay and cavities that require root canal treatments. Root canals need more time than dental fillings because the dentist must drill the tooth to access the infected or inflamed dental pulp for removal. They must also disinfect, clean, seal, and fill the access hole created for the treatment.

In such cases, Urbach pediatric dentistry delivers IV anesthesia through the arm by a board-certified anesthesiologist. Intravenous anesthesia allows your child to enjoy fully conscious sleep allowing the pediatric dentist to treat their dental needs. Intravenous anesthesia is also effective and safe to treat your child’s dental needs in one visit, especially if your child has a severe dental phobia or needs treatment like root canal therapy. Children with special needs or other medical conditions also receive intravenous anesthesia because they prevent the pediatric dentist from delivering sedation through an oral sedative.

If your child needs full mouth rehabilitation or is too young for oral or IV sedation, pediatric dentists use general anesthesia as an efficient method to manage behavior.

Sedation dentistry is an effective method for dental anxiety management. Children undergoing any dental procedure also receive local anesthesia in their mouths for pain management. The strategies adopted by pediatric dentists ensure your child is comfortable when visiting the dental professional for any treatments they require.

Leaving dental issues in children untreated results in complicated problems requiring intensive and expensive treatments challenging to perform merely with local anesthesia or nitrous oxide. It is why pediatric dentists are using oral sedation and other methods to calm your child when attending to their dental needs.

As a parent, you may have apprehensions in your mind about sedation dentistry. If so, you can inquire with sedation dentistry in Houston, TX, about any questions in your mind on the safety of sedatives used by the professional. The dentist will happily answer all your questions, convincing you that the dentist aims to provide the best treatment to your child in fewer visits to leave them with better oral and overall health.