Going to the dentist is never fun, but it also doesn’t have to painful or give you anxiety. IV sedation is making that possible, helping children who need extensive dental work, adults with severe dental phobia, and those with disabilities, get the dental care they need.
No Matter How Old The Patient Is, An Adult or Child, Safety Needs To Be A Priority!
Though IV sedation may not be the best option for a child who just needs a cavity filled. But it may be necessary for a four year old who has a painful abscess or badly decaying molars, and needs a root canal.
Unfortunately, there is that rare case when a child or even adult may fall into a sedation level that is deeper than intended, has a breathing or heart rate problem during the procedure, or an airway obstruction. This is especially an issue with children.
“The risk is small but there’s always a risk when you sedate a child, primarily of airway obstruction, where the child — for whatever reason — becomes oversedated,” said Dr. Joseph P. Cravero, a senior associate in perioperative anesthesia at Boston Children’s Hospital.
The American Society of Anesthesiologists suggests, the dentist should have a separate “a qualified individual”, to do the sedation and to monitor both the vital signs and heart rate, because it “reduces risk of adverse events,” said Dr. Jeffrey S. Plagenhoef, the society’s president.
The anesthesiologists’ society strongly recommends a qualified anesthesia provider for any dentistry using an IV. The fact is, instead of having the dentist do both the IV sedation and the procedure, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, CRNA, will make the procedure much safer, for children and adults.
According to a recent article in the New York Times, Should Kids Be Sedated for Dental Work?, “The quality of dentists’ sedation training matters, because a dentist needs to be able to choose the right candidates and the appropriate drug and know how to rescue an oversedated child.”
Safety Matters!
IV sedation has become a game changer for many children and adults who would have not received the dental care they needed. Just imagine getting all the dental work in just one visit, then leaving the office with little to no memory of the procedure!
