Nitrous Oxide

We tried it for my daughter when she had a cavity behind her front teeth. Unfortunately it did not do much because she would not relax enough to breathe it in. She ended up being strapped down with a special blanket. I was also in the room so I know exactly what was being done. We did really try but she could not relax.

My oldest son had it routinely from ages 4 until he was 10 or 11. He had several fillings a year.

My two younger boys have also both had it.

Way easier that Novocaine and we have had no bad experiences with it. I wish it was used when I was a kid. I'm a frequent filler as well and my dentist was a brute with the shots.

My 4 year old had nitrous oxide when he had four small fillings. He did fine. I was nervous about it, but he did great. They also numbed him in one spot, just because of where it was. He didn't even really remember being in the dentist chair.

My son had a lot of problems with his baby teeth.... he had at least one root canal and crown put on when he was less than 5 ... I don't remember how old he was with the first one.

Anyway, the nitrous oxide worked wonderfully with him... he even dozed off while the dentist was working with him!

I would ask if you could also get a mild sedative to give your child before you get to the dentist.. that will help calm her even more, and allow the NO to help.

We used it for my daughter when she got her tooth pulled. She LOVED it and asked to take the tank home!! She did not feel the procedure at all. I think it's perfectly fine to use.

I firmly believe in painless dentistry. I've used nitrous oxide for at least 30 years. I highly recommend it for any dental procedures that include drilling or anything worse.

Good luck to you and yours.

My son had it administered when he had some cavities filled, not for routine examinations or procedures. The dentist reported that he was extremely sensitive to it and needed only a small amount and warned us to be aware of that in the future. My son loved it. I don't know that I have a personal opinion about it, but I just know for my son we need to be careful with it. It certainly helped him get through the cavity filling, which is why he liked it.

Never used it. I didn't have a particularly anxious child, and we went to pediatric dentists who just talked to the kids and made the office fun. I think it's not a great strategy to always use a chemical, any chemical, for standard office visits. I think, if a lot of work needs to be done, it's okay on a limited basis to use something to help them hold still and not fear the dentist long term. If a child needs a filling, I think it's preferable to use a topical anesthetic to numb the area and then use lidocaine so the pain block is very localized and not breathed in. But if a child has other severe anxiety issues for another reason, I think it's wise to look into alternatives to avoid more trauma.

My aunt with dementia has had it multiple times for extractions. The oral surgeon asked me to stay in the room each time to help keep her calm but it was rough. It took 3 of us to hold her down so the surgeon could extract her rotten teeth. (She refused to let the nursing home brush her teeth). The nurse said it was on the highest level but I could not tell my aunt had anything. I would not want my daughter's to have it if they were extracting adult teeth. My understanding is that baby teeth are easy to pull so it may be okay for that. Best of luck! How stressful for you.

All 3 of mine have needed it when getting dental work done. We don't use it for checkups and cleanings but it really helps and was needed for the dental work.
We have had no problems or issues with it at all. We will gladly use it again if it's needed again for any work they may need in the future.
Depending on the work needed they will still use Novocain to numb the area because it doesn't provide the kind of pain relief needed for some dental work. But there were times when the dental work didn't need the numbing agent and nitrous oxide was only needed to help relax them enough so they did not hurt themselves or others by struggling or panicking.
An FYI though. It is typically not covered at all by insurance so you have to pay out of pocket. To us it is a price worth paying and we'd never say no because of it's cost. But it's something to think of when budgeting.

When I was a kid the dentist we went to used this a lot.
It makes you woozy and takes the edge off the pain but you still need a Novocaine shot.
The dentist we use now has it as an option but we don't use it.

He'll numb up an area with a Novocaine swab before giving the shot.
These days with where they give the shot (up near a facial nerve) the whole half of your face goes numb, you'll feel no pain from what ever dental procedure they are doing but after it wears off you'll feel where you got that shot for a few days to a week.

One of my sons was an anxious child. Laughing gas helped him handle having dental work done. Thank goodness for it!

My other son actually SLEPT during his front two teeth being removed when he was 4 years old. He slept through the whole thing. How wonderful for him! Wish my older son had slept.

My kids' dentist also worked with the cleft palate clinic of the local children's hospital. He campaigned for getting special needs children covered by insurance for this kind of help for surgery.

I really appreciate my kids' dentists using laughing gas - I really do.

my younger needed some pretty extreme dental surgery in order to pull down an impacted adult tooth. sliced his hard palate right open to attach a tiny chain to the tooth and his braces to tease it down. he was in the chair for a couple of hours on two separate occasions (the chain fell off after the first application), and i'm eternally grateful for the nitrous option. obviously he had novocaine too, but after the nitrous had him relaxed and groovy. he was perfectly fine the whole time. i was in the room, and i wish they'd given ME some!
khairete
S.

We have not. No real reason... but our kids are pretty comfortable at our dentist's office. They have always enjoyed going for the most part.

Daughter has had several teeth removed (per orthodontist recommendation, not just a tooth that won't seem to fall out even though it is loose). She had 4 removed at one time (roots and all, it was painful) but she didn't have nitrous oxide. They did injections to fully numb everything, b/c they were doing serious work in her mouth.

For routine cleanings? I wouldn't even consider it for my kids. They don't need it. If I had kids with severe anxieties, then I would consider it.. .but that doesn't apply to my kids.

My child had it when she was 6… I freaked out about it and researched online but nothing bad came of it at all… she was a little loopy afterwards and that was it… she had it for 1 tooth, I would say definitely use if you are having 6 pulled. :)

Nitrous doesn't really do much.

Please consider the option of general anesthesia. Not an oral med or IV like they use for putting in tubes or something but with a real pediatric dentist in a hospital setting and a real anesthesiologist. There is a world of difference.

Our pediatric dentist uses the out patient surgery at Children's Hospital in OKC. We take kiddo in NPO and they take him back to the waiting are for surgery. They put a mask over them to put them under just enough to do the IV. Then they go out all the way.

They wake up with no side effects at all ready to go eat and play.

When we had tubes put in our boys ears they used a gas anesthesia. It was horrible. He came out of it a couple of times. Then when he was waking up his breath smelled horrible, the med was being expelled through his breathing. He screamed and cried for nearly an hour.

They said almost all kids come out of that sort of anesthesia like that, it was NORMAL!!!

I think it was cruel. He remembers some of his surgery. I'd much rather have kiddo go out with an IV med instead of gas in any way.

I am terrified of dentists. I have a dentist now who gives adults a pill to take about a half hour before they come to the office, kids get to drink a syringe full of the liquid version of it. Went with a friend who's kid had to have an emergency extraction. I was so impressed at how this med worked I am going to this dentist now.

There are many ways to address this issue. I prefer the hospital out patient route with the IV meds to knock them out.

Some prefer a pill or liquid to make the sleepy then add the gas in the chair.

Some aren't bothered too much by the office visit and gas is enough to take the edge off.

There is no way I'd let my kiddo go through the pain and be awake while getting any dental work done. Just me though.

I don't think the gas will effect her at all and it will be like she's awake the whole time. Explore other options.