Anesthesia can be such a gift to children so they don't remember traumatic events. Thus preventing future fear of doctors and dentists.
DS has had several bone marrow biopsies, and they use IV sedation for those so he's completely out. The first time he had a BMB they told me that kids used to be given fentanyl lollipops and were pinned down. These days DS is given versed in advance so he has little to no recollection of going back into the OR or being prepped in the cancer clinic procedure room, and then knocked out.
I understand being nervous, but I think the risk from the anesthesia outweighs necessary trauma.
It’ll be ok! My son had two baby teeth that had deep cavities that needed to be cleaned out and capped. Unfortunately they went from shallow cavities to deep ones because dentists were completely shut down here for 6 months unless it was an “emergency” (aka wouldn’t do anything unless it was badly infected 😡😡). Anyway.
@@ pregnancy mentioned below.
They used gas to put him under and I was able to be there and snuggle him while he went to sleep. Once he was asleep they did X-rays, then confirmed the plan with me before getting started. They brought me back just as he was waking up for more snuggles and monitored regularly until he was cleared to go home. He was loopy and had a hard time walking on his own out to the car to go home despite being 5. The nurse walked him out with me and helped me get him in the car since I had recently been diagnosed with complete placenta previa and had a pretty strict lifting limit that was far below the 45 lbs DS1 was at that time. By the time we were home it had been about 2 hours since he woke up and he was much more with it. We spent the afternoon on the couch watching movies. He needed a bit of Tylenol around lunch and again before bed but was totally fine the next day.
My then 3 yo had sedation in office with the traveling anesthesiologist to get all his work done. It was easier than subsequent visits where we did nitrous for work/sealants.
A related aside: The first dentist we saw was very rude and made me feel like a crap mom. I vowed to do better with the baby. Guess what? The baby (despite getting his teeth brushed twice a day, flossing, and being way more compliant) had many of the same issues. So my contribution—if you start to feel guilty about your kid’s teeth issues, don’t.
His dentist was sure to tell me that his kids had tons of cavities- mostly from the influence of his dentist mother 😂
My oldest was put under anesthesia for dental work. It was fine. We got to walk back with him and stay with him until he was almost asleep. They used gas first and then inserted the IV. They intubated him through the nose since they needed access to his mouth, which caused mild nose bleeds. He has asthma and had a little trouble keeping his O2 levels up afterward so he got albuterol and was totally fine after that. He never had any pain and was just sleepy the rest of the day. We did everything we were supposed to do in terms of caring for his teeth including dentist visits and fluoride treatments every 3 months, but he was blessed with shitty genetics and the inhaled steroids for asthma contributed.
Yes and I was so nervous, but it all went fine. She had to have some baby teeth pulled that just weren’t coming out on their own. They were worried the teeth were so fragile they’d break and it would be traumatic to have them digging pieces out.
Twice to have his lip stitched back together in the ER. The second time, the anesthesiologist said, “He looks familiar, has he had anesthesia before?” It was the same guy who had sedated DS the year before, lol. Anyway, DS came out of it both times like a champ. Good luck!
DS also had a minor reconstructive surgery as an infant and had anesthesia then. That was more of an ordeal.
Oh man, sounds like my guy. He needed forehead stitches and they were asking about his history and I was like “oh he was just sedated for surgery a week and a half ago and did great.” He was two, and had already tied me for sedation as a 30-something year old.
Aside from angrily demanding popsicles when he woke up, he did well with the sedation.
Maybe too late, but my oldest (13) was fully sedated for 3 teeth to be pulled. They were baby teeth, but weren’t coming out, were starting to recess into her gums, and she needed them out for her orthodontia work.
She didn’t NEED to be fully sedated for this. Local would have been enough. But she had a really traumatic tooth extraction with local when she was younger, and was legit terrified about this, and chose, for herself, to be put under. Didn’t even want nitrous when they explained what that was. Chose to be fully knocked out.
We went to an oral surgeon, he was amazing. The sedation and “coming out of it” time took longer than the procedure. The anesthesia made her pretty nauseous, she puked a couple times as she was waking up, and was super tired/slept the rest of the day. But I asked her if she’d choose that option again if she had the choice, and she said yes, no question.
I hope everything went well! It’s scary for us to watch them go through it for sure!
Post by basilosaurus on Aug 6, 2021 23:23:09 GMT -5
Go for the sedation. I was one of those unfortunate kids who had to have most of my baby teeth pulled (13/20) because the adult teeth came in so crooked they didn't know the babies out. The most was 4 at once when I was 10, but it began when I was 5. I was not fully numb, and I screamed and cried, received a slap and reprimand for it "only babies cry." (they didn't allow parents back as that was SOP back then thinking kids were worse when a parent was there) This was the top pediatric dentist in my large metro area. I shook so badly we never went back and got in with a family friend who didn't usually see kids. I'm only recently over that trauma and only because I had a fantastic dentist a few years ago. A drunk irate kid for a few hours who won't remember is preferable IMO.
Post by ProfessorArtNerd on Aug 7, 2021 8:18:51 GMT -5
He ended up with 6 caps, 4 of which were on nerves and needed that treated, too. All told he was out for an hour, super groggy for a while after we got home, and really woke up at dinner time. And Lucy, who’ll tell you herself is not very compassionate, bought him a toy and played quietly with him as he woke up. Definitely know I did the right thing.
DS (almost 7) just had dental surgery at the beginning of July. He had an extra tooth that was creating problems with the permanent teeth that had come in/were coming in.
He had to be put under general because of where the tooth was (front and center of the top). I was feeling the same way you are!
He did great and everything was fine. He came out of anesthesia just fine (but also a little hilarious) and was basically back to "normal" but the end of the day.
Our Oral Surgeon offered a non-narcotic, time-release pain reliever shot. It was approved earlier this year for pediatric use, but wasn't covered by our insurance, so it was about $400 OOP. But it was SO great and I would 100% do it again. DS had virtually no pain for three days.
My 9 year old daughter went to the dentist today and had a panoramic X-ray. She hasn’t had one for 3 years. The dentist said they think she has an extra tooth above her 6 year molars on each side. I’m totally panicking about this and Google is freaking me out worse. She is a totally healthy, typical kid. Any experiences to share with an extra tooth on each side?? We will be scheduling a consult with the oral surgeon. My h took her in to the dentist today and it was so surprising. We didn’t even know what to ask. I’m freaking out as to why she has these teeth since Google has led me down a rabbit hole of syndromes.
Sorry to post on your thread professorartnerd. I’m glad it went well for your son .
whitemerlot, I would wait to hear what the oral surgeon has to say. It's not uncommon that we find extra teeth when a panoramic x-ray is taken and usually I do the same as your dentist - refer to the oral surgeon to evaluate if they should be removed now, removed later, or left alone. This is a great reason of why a panoramic x-ray is important and why insurance carriers should cover them more often than every 5 years, but that's another topic.I can't speak to your case, but all the kids with extra teeth that I have diagnosed have been normal healthy kids. None of my patients have been diagnosed with a syndrome from a finding of extra teeth so I would stay away from Google. Let us know how it goes.
whitemerlot, I would wait to hear what the oral surgeon has to say. It's not uncommon that we find extra teeth when a panoramic x-ray is taken and usually I do the same as your dentist - refer to the oral surgeon to evaluate if they should be removed now, removed later, or left alone. This is a great reason of why a panoramic x-ray is important and why insurance carriers should cover them more often than every 5 years, but that's another topic.I can't speak to your case, but all the kids with extra teeth that I have diagnosed have been normal healthy kids. None of my patients have been diagnosed with a syndrome from a finding of extra teeth so I would stay away from Google. Let us know how it goes.
Post by ProfessorArtNerd on Aug 31, 2021 6:59:52 GMT -5
whitemerlot- anecdotal, but I had an extra wisdom tooth. No reason for it, and I had it removed when I had my others done. Only things wrong with me are asthma and allergies, and they didn’t cause it .
whitemerlot- anecdotal, but I had an extra wisdom tooth. No reason for it, and I had it removed when I had my others done. Only things wrong with me are asthma and allergies, and they didn’t cause it .
Thank you for sharing. I’m really stressed out about several other things this week and for some reason this is causing major anxiety for me.