Sedation

Conscious Oral Sedation

Oral conscious sedation (OCS) sedation involves your child drinking/ingesting a combination of medications 20-30 minutes before the start of their procedure. Once the medication has begun to take effect.

OCS has a deeper anesthetic effect and your child will experience some lasting effects for up to 24-48 hours following their visit. It should also be noted that your child will likely not remember most of their visit, making it a great option for children with existing dental anxiety. To protect your child from unexpected movements, we will also cover them with a comfortable protective blanket.

General Anesthesia (GA)

General Anesthesia (GA) is the deepest type of sedation offered and is done by a licensed anesthesia provider in the office. This is the type of anesthesia you would expect to receive during surgery in the hospital. With this type of sedation, your child will be completely asleep and will have no recollection of the procedure. You can expect your child to either be asked to breathe through a special mask or receive a small catheter to be placed in a vein in their hand or arm, where the anesthesia medications will be administered.

When the dental treatment is completed, your child is woken up and monitored until they are alert and responsive. At this time, they are ready to go home. You can expect some lingering drowsiness and slight sedation to last 24-48 hours. The decision to use General Anesthesia can depend on health issues, how severe anxiety is, and their ability to cooperate with oral medication.

During your sedation consultation, your dentist will ask for detailed health and dental history. After considering several factors, your dentist will recommend the best method of sedation to keep your child safe during treatment. Answering all the questions fully and honestly is the best way to keep your child safe during sedation.

Overall, sedation is extremely safe and effective when performed by a trained and certified dentist. We follow all sedation guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry to ensure the safety of your child.

Discuss all sedation and monitoring options with you to ensure that the perfect sedation treatment plan is created for your child.