What To Know Before Your Child Is Sedated
There are dental procedures where your dental professional may recommend your child be sedated. One of the most common reasons is the removal of wisdom teeth. Wisdom teeth removal can be painful since up to four teeth could possibly be removed from deep underneath the gum’s surface. There are some things you should know, and questions you should ask your dentist, before allowing your child to be sedated for an oral health procedure.
Ask Questions
Many people don’t understand exactly how much goes into a procedure that involves anesthesia. Most assume they will be given a general anesthetic, go to sleep, and wake up fine a few hours later. Any procedure that requires anesthesia can be considered a serious one, as there are many factors that go into administering the proper dosage of anesthetic. You or your child should not go through with an oral health surgery until some important questions are answered by your dentist. Consider the following as a guideline.
- What exactly is the procedure being performed? Is it necessary for my child’s dental health?
- What training and experience do you have?
- What medicines will be used to perform the sedation?
- Who will be providing the anesthesia? Yourself, or a separate provider?
- How will you monitor my child during the procedure?
- Is your staff trained to handle a crisis situation is something were to go wrong?
- What recovery setup do you have, and what are the steps for after the surgery?
Find A Dentist You Are Comfortable With
You do not need to complete a surgery until you are comfortable going into the procedure. Find a dentist, such as those at Community Dental Group, that have years of experience dealing with oral health surgeries. This not only goes for your child’s oral health surgery but any oral health surgery you require as well. Most dental work is not life-or-death, so seeking a second opinion and finding a dentist that makes you feel at ease is worthwhile. Don’t be afraid to trust your instincts if something seems off. Your dentist should be more than willing to talk you through the procedure and explain everything to you step-by-step, in detail.
Things Are Not Over Once The Surgery Is Over
Children need continued observation after their procedure is completed, as it typically takes them longer to come out of sedation than adults. You should monitor that your child is not falling asleep or slowing his breathing. You can also periodically check your child’s heartrate to ensure that it is not going down until you can be certain they have fully emerged from the sedative.