Hi, I am writing in the hopes that another Mom can offer some advice or opinions on whether or not my neice who is 6 1/2 yrs. old should be put under general anethesia with an IV to have 2 cavities filled along with a cleaning? My sister has taken her twice in the past month to have this procedure done and both times even with happy gas were unsuccessful. She is terrified and will not open her mouth. The dentist adviced my sister that the only way to get these cavities filled would be to do the general anethesia with an IV and monitor her heart rate throughout the procedure but my concern is that something could happen to her and that maybe someone has tips on how to get her ready for the dentist visit without the anethesia? I would just like to know what you would do? Would you go through with the anethesia or would you prolong the fillings of the cavities until she was ready to do it without the anethesia? Her appointment is scheduled for tomorrow and my sister and I are having second thoughts and would really appreciate any advice!! Thanks so much!
Good Morning everyone! I just wanted to let everyone know that everything went just fine the day of the dental visit!! She actually called the dentist office the morning of her appointment and explained her concerns to them about the procedure and they assured her that they do this alot for kids who are terrified of the dentist and they have never had a problem. An anesthesiologist was brought in to perform the IV sedation (she was not under general anethesia) and monitored her the entire time the work was being performed.
My sister will be working with her more so that when she goes in for her 6 month check-up she hopefully will be more relaxed!
Thank you to everyone who wrote in with advice and also to those of you who just wanted to show your concerns!! We appreciate your help!
I heard on NPR this morning they did a study on children put under general anesthesia compared to kids that hadn't - showed increased risk of learning disabilities and ADD. Here is the link:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1023...
Now it dealt with kids under 4, but if it has that effect on the brain I'd go with some valium. That's what I use.
My daughter has a phobia of the dentist, but they give her a childrens dose of Valium to calm her down.
I've not had to deal with something like this but my opinion is that general anesthesia is pretty serious and should only be used in a serious situation.
Getting 2 teeth filled does not seem like a reason general anesthesia. There has to be some other way to do this.....like the previous poster suggested.
I would certainly get a second opinion. Good luck!
i had to use this option twice on my oldest boy when he was 4 and 6. was it hard on me? yes, but he had a severe phobia that didn't go away till much later. we couldn't even get him to open his mouth with people holding him down. it was that bad. kids need dental care. get it done how you can.
oddly enough, he has no problems now with the dentist and baby brother has no phobias. hope your niece outgrows it too.
Your sister defiently needs to see a different dentist! My son is 5 and goes to a pediatric dentist in Denton. Her name is Dr. Dye. She is WONDERFUL! My son has had to have 2 baby root canals and it didnt even faze him. She did a wonderful job! He is scheduled for 1 more crown and 1 filling. Then we will finally be done.
I think that she should really consider seeing someone else!
I also have a 1 year old and he even layed there and let her look in his mouth.
Defiently change the experience for her so she wont be terrified as an adult.
My hubby is a nurse and he says no way. No way would he put our little one under general anesthesia for that. Lots of cases under general go fine, but in a dental office? Too many stories out there for that. No...have her ask the dentist about using something more like versed which will help relax and help her not even remember it. It is usually versed and fentanyl that they use in colonoscopy's etc, but not a general anesthesia. The versed and fent are short acting and less side effects...and not completely under. Just my two cents...
I was just checking to see how the appointment went, have they gone yet? I am a mother of 3 and started taking them to the dentist since they were two.I have also been in the dental field for about 10 years and seen children sedated by IV and oral meds, all did just fine. I hope it went well.
I say call and talk to another dentist. There was a point where they were going to have to extract a tooth on my son and the specialist we were going to was going to papoose (sp?) him and give him something to make him not care. He was 4. In fact, the dentist we used didn't want to have to put him out just to do that.
