hi G.,
This is scary, huh? I fell while carrying our almost 2 yr old, and a year later, one front tooth turned grey, and at 4 it abcessed and had to come out. That dentist didn't use laughing gas, just novacaine, which really pankicked her, and it wasn't a positive experience.
she later had 4 teeth extracted for braces (she's 14 now), with the laughing gas. Laughing gas doesn't really make you laugh. It relaxes you, and even then as a pre-teen the dental surgeon said that if she was good mom could stay in the room. Given her prior experience, there was no way Mom was going to wait outside. I held her hand the whole time.
However, the laughing gas is good. It'll keep your daughter calm, and then the gums will numb up, and the teeth are already dead. If you have ever had a tooth abcess, you know what that feels like -- it's incredibly painful. So whatever it takes to get the teeth out, is a good thing. It's also a good thing they are the baby teeth. And also, it's good that this is a time when kids look incredibly cute with their front teeth missing. :-) And that they are young enough not to be horribly concerned about their looks (like young teens), so the after affects won't be problematic.
I will be a little surprised if they have you stay in the room while they do the dental surgery. If they do, be aware that it may be difficult for you. But you kind of have to do what you have to do. It's FAR better than having abcess after abcess and constant antibiotics.
when our 4 yr old had her tooth out, we rented videos for her to watch all day, and she stayed on the couch ALL DAY -- I was kind of horrified, cuz it was a simple extraction, really. Finally I said, "Do you want to get up?" and she said, "can i?" She thought she HAD to stay there all day !!! Here I'd been thinking she was horribly traumatized, and she was wondering how long she had to lay around and be good. poor kid. The bottom line? kids recover faster than moms do.
There's some basic after-surgery care like no soda, and I think no straws ?? Not sure on that one. Bottles and sippy cups may have the same problem. They want to be sure nothing draws the clot out when it forms in the tooth hole. But they will give you all that info, and they will be available over the phone if you have any questions afterwards. Also, it's on a Monday, so if you do have questions, the Q's will come up on weekdays. That's another good thing.
Good luck ! Ir's one of those times when you wish you had the dental problem, not your daughter. It's tough to be a mom, but you will both get through this !! :-)