Sedation Dentistry for Kids In San Antonio, TX
At Helotes Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics, we are committed to making sure your child receives the high quality dental care they need in a comfortable, calm and gentle environment by providing sedation dentistry options to relieve anxiety at our San Antonio, TX pediatric dentist office.
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Quality dental care should not hurt, which is why we provide treatment that our patients and their parents can trust. You can relax during your visit knowing our doctors always use the latest pediatric sedation dentistry treatment techniques to ensure your peace of mind.
Sedation dentistry can help many young children who suffer from high anxiety or are too young for invasive treatments. At Helotes Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics, we provide safe and effective drugs that can help relax your child during their dental treatment.
We offer in-office dental sedation options for kids, including oral sedation and laughing gas. If your child has special needs or a more complicated dental treatment case, we can also provide treatment using general IV medication in a hospital setting.
Our goal is the same for each child in our care - to ensure a positive dental experience in a safe environment!
If your child suffers from dental anxiety, Dr. Kara Whittington may recommend oral sedation. This type of sedation tones down activity in the parts of your child's brain that cause them to feel anxious or afraid.
Unfortunately, dental anxiety can keep many patients from visiting the dentist for checkups and much-needed dental work. If dental appointments make your child anxious, our pediatric dental team can administer laughing gas to help your child feel more at ease during their visit.
At Helotes Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics, laughing gas is administered using a mask, allowing your child to relax and feel more at ease within minutes. If your child is feeling anxious about an upcoming visit, ask about laughing gas. Most of our patients are good candidates for this treatment.
General anesthesia brings on a sleep-like state with the use of a combination of medicines. The medicines are administered intravenously before and during medical procedures.
In-Office General Anesthesia is tailored to meet the needs of ambulatory surgery, so the patient can go home soon after his/her procedure. Short-acting anesthetic medications and specialized anesthetic techniques are used to make the patient’s experience safe and pleasant. In general, if your child is in reasonably good health, he/she is a candidate for In-Office Anesthesia.
General Anesthesia Benefits
General Anesthesia is very safe, can help to ease a child’s anxiety, allows for more complex procedures to be completed.
General anesthesia ensures that the child remains completely unconscious and pain-free during treatment.
Sometimes, treating children in the typical office setting is not possible, this can be due to several reasons: there may be an extensive amount of work that needs to be done, the inability of a child to stay completely still for a lengthy period of time, poor behavior or severe anxiety. In situations where in-office treatment is likely to be unsuccessful or there is a behavioral issue, your dentist may recommend treatment under Hospital General Anesthesia. The goal is always to provide your child with the safest, highest quality treatment in the best, most accommodating environment.
Who is an ideal candidate?
We suggest Hospital General Anesthesia if your child needs treatment that will be very extensive, requires oral surgery, has special needs, has behavioral issues that prevent them from sitting still. General anesthesia is given to patients by specially trained doctors or nurses.
Sedation Dentistry FAQs
Can my child return to school after receiving dental sedation?
It depends on the services they received and the sedation options that were used. If your child regularly experiences dental anxiety and just needs nitrous oxide to feel calm and relaxed during dental cleanings, they should be fine to return to school afterward. If they undergo an advanced treatment like a dental extraction, they should go straight home regardless of the sedation that is used. Oral conscious sedation and IV sedation can take a few hours to wear off, so patients should not plan on returning to school if these sedation options are used.
Does sedation dentistry for kids have side effects?
Nitrous oxide is known for being able to wear off quickly, but nausea and headaches can be side effects. We recommend having your child eat a light meal or snack before their visit to avoid this. Dry mouth, nausea, dizziness, and headaches are common side effects of using oral conscious sedation and IV sedation, although most patients experience very few or no side effects at all. You never know the exact reaction a child will have, so we advise parents to let their child rest and take it easy for the rest of the day whenever possible.
Is dental sedation safe for children?
Patient safety is always our number one priority at Helotes Pediatric Dentistry. We always go over the patient's treatment plan and medical history before recommending or administering certain types of dental sedation for kids, and we always get a parent or guardian's permission as well. You can expect your child to feel groggy or worn out after receiving dental sedation, but should they develop a fever or if you have any questions or concerns for our office after their visit, please don't hesitate to contact us, and we will assist you right away.
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