As a parent, we take are children to the dentist and don’t really think much of it. Every day children are  taken to the dentist for a routine procedure, possibly to get a few cavities filled, a crown, pull a tooth, and maybe even a root canal.

“Children at a very young age, if they do require a lot of work, you can only imagine they are not going to lay down on the chair,” Dr. Robert Delarosa, president of the AAPD and a dentist in private practice in Baton Rouge told the TODAY Show. “Dentistry is not the most innocuous stimulus and a very, very young child has to be made as comfortable as possible. So it’s not uncommon for children to undergo anesthesia.”

Dentistry is a precise science that uses a high speed drill,” Dr. Joel Weaver, a emeritus professor of the Ohio State University Medical Center told the Today Show. “That requires that someone hold still or some tooth structure that’s not decayed could get drilled. When there is multiple and massive decay, the child requires some form of conscious sedation or some form of general anesthesia.”

“Some believe this causes psychological trauma,” said Weaveir. “When you take all the advantages of high-quality dentistry on a very still patient and not having the psychological disadvantages of being held down for the procedure, the risks [of anesthesia] are far outweighed by the benefits.”

At Blue Sky Anesthesia Associates, our expectations are high and yours should be too when choosing to have sedation for your dental procedure. We follow the strict American Dental Association guidelines and protocols throughout every procedure.

We encourage you to contact Dwayne Thibeault MSN, ARNP, CRNA, Rudy Pavlesich DNP, CRNA, FNP, ARNP, or Jessica Vigue RN  Clinical Coordinator with Blue Sky Anesthesia Associates with any questions or concerns you may have.