Our entire team at Pediatric Dental Care has the specialized training needed to help your child to get great dental care and to feel good about coming to the dentist. Personalized treatment for your child's age lays the groundwork for a healthy smile for the rest of their lives.  

One of the services we offer our young patients with dental anxieties is sedation dentistry. With several options available, we can help even our tiniest patients and their parents to feel comfortable and at ease coming to the dentist.

Sedation as Part of Pediatric Dental Care

As a parent, you know that your child has different needs than an adult when it comes to their well-being. As experts in caring for the growing and changing teeth in a child's mouth, we also know that they have special requirements for their care.

Children often don't have the mental and emotional tools that adults have to remain still even when they feel anxious or uncomfortable. Therefore, our team does everything possible to help comfort your child during their visit. For some children, feeling comfortable may mean using sedation dentistry.

Sedation Solutions We Offer Your Child

Children who are very young, need complex procedures, or have significant dental anxiety may benefit from one of the sedation options we offer. Sedation can help little ones remain still for complex dental procedures or to feel calmer, even for shorter dental visits. The methods we use are safe and selected based on your child's needs.  

Nitrous Oxide

Most people have heard of nitrous oxide by its other name, laughing gas. We offer this as an option for children who feel a little anxious during their visits.

Your child inhales nitrous oxide through a breathing mask. The gas mixture relaxes your child almost immediately, but likely will not cause them to sleep. Some children may feel silly or giddy.  

Of all the sedation options, this method starts working the fastest and the effects wear off the quickest. Your child will likely have already recovered from the nitrous oxide on your way home from the dental visit.

Conscious Sedation

Conscious sedation uses medication to reduce anxiety in your child that keeps them awake but relaxed throughout the appointment. Some children won't remember the visit, even if they stayed awake the entire time.

Because conscious sedation medicine has to pass through the body, your child may not recover as quickly after the appointment as they would with nitrous oxide. Give your child plenty of time to rest after the appointment for the medicine to clear their system.

The goal of giving your child medication for conscious sedation is not to put them to sleep but to help them to stay calm and still for our dentist to do necessary work.

IV Sedation

IV sedation is the most intensive type of sedation we offer. For this type of sedation, your child will have medicines directly administered through an IV line in their arm. These medicines put them to sleep for the entire procedure. An anesthesiologist will monitor your child and their vital signs the entire time, letting our dentist focus on their work.

After IV sedation, you may need to stay at the office for a little while until the anesthesiologist determines that your child is ready to go home. They will very likely still feel sleepy after the procedure for the rest of the day. The anesthesiologist will give you specific after-care guidelines.

Because IV sedation requires administration by a board-certified dental anesthesiologist, we offer it only on a case-by-case basis.

Comfortable Dental Care for Your Child

If you're worried about having a comfortable and calm dental experience with your child, ask us about our sedation options. Our team will be happy to discuss the different sedation options we have for your child to help them have a positive experience. We want to help your child build lifelong healthy dental habits by offering ways to reduce dental anxieties so they can get great care for their growing teeth.