Posts for tag: childs dentist
How does dental sedation work for children?
Dr.Glasmeier offers oral sedation for children who are fearful and/or have extensive dental needs that require measures to help relax/calm the child. By using oral sedation, the child can put be into a very relaxed, pain free statethat enables the dentist to accomplish the dental treatment successfully with thecooperation of the child. Oral sedation has been shown to be very helpful with children that are very nervous or have difficulty cooperating throughout the dental treatment.The end result is a more relaxed child with a pain free visit and very little recollectionof his/her dental visit(amnesia). Talk to Dr.Glasmeier about how oral sedation can help with your child's dental care!
Question: My child needs extensive dental work done and is quite nervous. What options are available to my child for sedation?
Anwer: That can really depend on certain factors such as age, weight, medical history, previous dental experiences, etc. The majority of the time, nitrous oxide(laughing gas) is sufficient to help calm the child down and eliminate anxiety. Nitrous is great because the onset of effect takes ~ 2-3 minutes and laughing gas is completely removed from the body following several minutes of administrating oxygen. If a child is unresponsive to laughing gas and will not cooperate, I would then recommending the patient be referred to a pediatric dentist. Pediatric dentists have more extensive training in sedation techniques for children such as oral sedation or even general anesthesia.
Question: Should I take my child to a pediatric dentist?
Answer: This depends on several things. If the child has severe dental problems that require substantial amount of chair time, then a pediatric dentist might be better. Certainly, if the child has a great deal of anxiety, or a history of combativeness, or unwillingness to cooperate for simple tasks such as a cleaning, then a pediatric dentist is warranted. One major advantage of a pediatric dentist is that they can sedate children at a more concentrated level than the general dentist (oral sedation or general anesthesia)--this is a great treatment modality for children that are very young, require an extensive amount of work or have a complicated medical history. I always recommend bring your child to the general dentist first and then we can make a decision together whether or not a pediatric dentist is needed. Have faith in your child as they may do better than you think! I typically will perform exams on children as young as 3 years old but any younger, they definitely would be better for a pediatric dentist. I refer out less than 10% of the children that enter my practice because most children will do very well given the right environment.
Dr.G
When should my child start seeing a dentist?
I recommend bring your child as soon as they get their full complement of baby teeth, which is approximately 2-3 years of age. While this age is young, and very little dentistry can often be accomplished, it establishes a couple things:
1. The dentist is able to count all the teeth to verify that all the teeth are present as well as checking for cavities. The dentist can also determine and assess for further problems such as crowding issues or potential diastemas(spaces between front teeth).
2. By establishing a routine early, the child will typically have more positive experiences and be comfortable with future visits.
3. Enables the dentist to help the parents establish a good system of oral hygiene to prevent further problems.
At ages 2-3, typically the teeth will be counted and will be checked for cavities and any other abnormalities. X-rays are not usually taken unless a problem is discovered and the child may or may not receive a cleaning depending on the child's temperament. By ages 4-5,the child will get the same treatment as an adult which involves an exam, x-rays and a cleaning. It is VERY important to have your child assessed before their permanent teeth start to come in as there could be preexisting problems that may affect the permanent teeth. An ounce of prevention provides defense against a ton of problems!
