Safe Pediatric Sedation Dentistry at Victory Smiles

It’s very easy for kids to be afraid of the dentist, especially when it’s their first visit. We understand that when your child is told to lay down in a room with certain dental tools that look intimidating, and a stranger is about to examine their mouth, it can be scary and cause some anxiety during their visit. If your child has anxiety or certain special needs, then we may recommend pediatric sedation as part of their treatment.

What Is Sedation Dentistry?

Sedation dentistry involves using a combination of different methods to ease restlessness and anxiety in our more nervous patients. While we offer sedation to our adult patients, we use it a bit more frequently in our pediatric patients. Which methods we use depend on each individual case.

Local Anesthetic Sedation

Using local anesthesia is the simplest method of sedation. It involves injecting numbing medication around the area where treatment will take place. This temporarily blocks off the nerves so they don’t transmit a pain response. The patient will feel a slight numbing sensation, but it will fade after treatment.

Laughing Gas

Laughing gas is used to soothe any mental and emotional stress that our younger patients may experience when they come into our office. This is best suited to our patients who are cooperative and can sit still, but it may not work as well on kids who have a dental phobia or who cannot sit still.

General Anesthesia

Sometimes, a general anesthetic is necessary for our pediatric patients who are unable to cooperate, such as infants, children who are in need of a major treatment, an extremely anxious child, or any child who may have a condition that makes it hard for them to follow instructions or sit still.

Victory Smiles Offers Careful Dental Sedation For Pediatric Patients

When it comes to pediatric dental sedation, we offer minimal, moderate, and deep sedation. If you have a child who’s nervous about their upcoming dentist appointment and may not be able to fully cooperate, please contact us. We will discuss your child’s needs with you in-depth and agree to a sedation method for their treatment.