How To Prepare My Child For Dental Sedation

Pediatric dental sedation is essential to helping kids sit through their dental appointments without feeling fearful or worried. It’s commonly used for children with dental anxiety, special needs kids, and those who need lengthy dental work.

If your child needs pediatric sedation dentistry for their next appointment, here are the steps you should take to prepare them for it:

1. Learn Everything About the Sedative

There are several types of dental sedation your child could get, depending on their needs and dental work. Before you start preparing your child for it, it’s worth learning how the specific sedative works.

Here are the different options available:

• Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is a mild sedative that the child will inhale through a special mask placed on their nose.

• Oral conscious: Medication the child will take shortly before their procedure.

• IV sedation: For children who require lengthy dental work, administering sedation through an IV helps ensure the effects don’t wear off too quickly.

• General anesthesia is the only sedative that puts the patients to sleep. It’s used for major dental surgeries or children with special health care needs, only in a clinical setting.

2. Talk to Your Child Openly

Children can be afraid of what they don’t understand, so you should take the time to explain what’s about to happen. Tell them why the sedation is important and how it will help them get the treatment needed to have a happy and healthy smile.

You can also try some educational videos to help your child understand the process better.

3. Let Them Ask All Their Questions

Encourage your child to ask all their questions to make sure they’re not trying to hide their concerns and emotions. While you answer, reassure them that the sedation will help them feel better during their treatment. 

4. Talk to the Pediatric Dentist 

If your child receives a mild sedative like laughing gas, then there’s not much preparation you need to do before or after. Give your child a light meal beforehand, and everything should be fine. 

Other types of sedatives may require the child to fast or have prolonged effects, which means the little one should take a day off and rest. Your pediatric dentist in Valencia will give you all these details beforehand.

5. Give Them Something Else to Look Forward to

Even if they understand what’s going on, the child can still be a bit anxious about sedation, so try not to make everything about it. You can plan for a fun activity either on the day of the procedure or the next to help them have something else to look forward to. 

Explore Your Child’s Sedation Options 

Bring your little one to meet with Dr. Laura Greenwald to find out which type of dental sedation will help them restore their oral health stress-free. 

Schedule a visit to All Kids Dentistry online or call us at (661) 349-8636.