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While it is common for everyone to experience feeling nervous at the dentist, this can be especially true for children. Here, our North Vancouver dentists discuss whether dental sedation is safe for children and what the different types are.
You may be aware that your child is anxious at the dentist, or they may have unique requirements that necessitate some assistance in order for them to relax during events such as dental visits. One approach to helping your youngster relax is to use dental sedation. Our North Vancouver dentists are regularly asked about the safety of sedation in dental treatment for youngsters.
Sedation and anesthesia are a safe approach for children to receive the required and critical dental healthcare they require when administered by competent and experienced dental professionals.
Because children frequently associate dentist visits with anxiety, dental sedation can help alleviate stress during their visit. Sedation can play an important role in creating excellent dental experiences for children by lowering their stress and anxiety levels.
The Different Types of Dental Sedation for Children
The three types of sedation that are commonly used for children are:
Nitrous oxide, otherwise known as laughing gas, can help to calm young patients who are feeling anxious, nervous or frightened. Nitrous Oxide is delivered via a face mask, and will relax the patient and promote euphoric feelings, but will not make the patient unconscious or impair their reflexes.
Oral sedation can take up to 20 minutes to take effect, so it's given to the patient when they first arrive for their dental appointment. Oral sedation will not make the patient unconscious, but patients often dose off during the procedure.
General anesthesia may be recommended by our children's dentists for patients with high pain sensitivity, serious behavioural challenges, limited understanding and/or with special needs. Under general anesthesia, the patient becomes unconscious so that their reflexes are completely relaxed. Patients will have no memory of the procedure once they wake, and will not feel pain during the procedure.
While we do not offer sedation options at Seymour Dental Centre, your child's safety and comfort are still our priority. Our team can answer any questions or concerns that you may have about how we can make your child feel relaxed.