White Plains Dental Sedation for Kids

If your child needs dental work but is very nervous or anxious about seeing the dentist, the team at Miles of Little Smiles is here to help. Dr. Mila Belgrade and Dr. Dee Chazbani are pediatric specialists with years of experience treating children with sedation dentistry in White Plains. Whether your little one is anxious, fearful, has difficulty sitting still or a strong gag reflex, sedation dentistry can help them enjoy their visit!

Sedation with Laughing Gas

Laughing gas sedation is what we recommend for most children with mild to moderate dental anxiety. The sedative will be delivered to your child through a comfortable nose mask. They’ll breathe in, and feel the effects of the gas immediately.

Laughing gas will keep your child feeling happy and comfortable, and it also inhibits pain. Combined with local anesthetic, this ensures your child won’t feel any discomfort during their procedure. It also wears off after only 5 minutes, which means that you and your little one can get back to your daily life without any interruption following your appointment.

IV Sedation for Children

IV sedation is a deeper method of sedation. It uses a mixture of anti-anxiety drugs that are delivered intravenously through an IV bag. Once your child is sedated at our White Plains office, he or she will likely become very drowsy and groggy, and may even fall asleep during the procedure. They will also likely forget most or all of what happens during their procedure. They won’t be unconscious, however, and can be roused if necessary.

IV sedation lasts 4-6 hours after it’s administered. Post-treatment after-effects include confusion, nausea, dry mouth, tearing up and crying, and headaches. 

General Anesthesia for Kids

General anesthesia is typically only used for major dental procedures. Your child will be given a blend of sedatives that will guarantee that your child will not feel a thing during treatment. They will be completely unconscious, and will not remember their procedure. This means that they will have no painful memories of the dentist, which will help ensure that they do not develop dental anxiety in the future.

Is Sedation Dentistry Safe for Kids?

Yes! Sedation dentistry is completely safe for children. Dr. Belgrade specializes in pediatric dental sedation for patients in White Plains and Westchester, and we will use the latest techniques and best practices to ensure that your child is sedated safely. We’ll also ask you about your child’s medical history and discuss allergies and other such things to ensure that they are sedated safely. 

The Benefits Of Sedation Dentistry

• Sedation dentistry is the best way to relieve fear and anxiety in kids who are afraid of the dentist. 
• With sedation, your child can feel more comfortable and safe while they get the care they need. 
• Sedation dentistry can help your child get through longer dental procedures, preventing squirming and discomfort. It can even help with fear of needles (such as numbing needles) and inhibit the gag reflex.

When Is Dental Sedation Typically Recommended For Kids?

Dental sedation is typically used to relieve dental anxiety and make a child feel relaxed during their appointment. It can also be used to relieve pain, reduce a sensitive gag reflex, help a child sit for a long procedure in which they have to keep their mouth open or to help a young restless child cooperate for a necessary procedure. 

Dental sedation is a convenient way to make the child feel more comfortable while enabling Dr. Belgrade to get more work done in a single appointment. Any complex procedure like oral surgery will require some level of sedation to relieve pain and make your child feel at ease.

How Long Does It Take For Sedation To Wear Off?

This depends on the type of sedation used at our White Plains dental practice. Nitrous oxide is the mildest and most commonly used sedative in children’s dentistry. It has a very rapid onset and leaves the body just as quickly.

After your procedure is done, we remove remnants of nitrous oxide by flushing the nasal mask with pure oxygen. Within a few minutes, the laughing gas effects will have worn off completely. This is the only type of sedation that does not cause lingering hangover effects.

IV sedation takes much longer to wear off. You may feel mostly back to normal within a few hours, but it can take up to 24 hours for the effects to completely wear off. Your child will need to be monitored for the rest of the day and may need help walking up the stairs and getting around.

For both IV sedation and general anesthesia, you will feel less groggy within an hour. However, the sedative stays in your system for 24 hours. For a full 24 hours, your child should not be engaging in strenuous or hazardous activities and should have a chaperone look after them.

Will My Child Feel Pain With Sedation?

No, dental sedation will leave your child feeling relaxed and pain-free! Depending on the type of sedation being used, it may need to be combined with a local anesthetic. With general anesthesia, your child will be completely unconscious and not have any perception of what is going on. 

It will be like they went to sleep and woke up without having any idea about what happened in between. Nitrous oxide is great for minor routine procedures like dental fillings, while IV sedation is preferable for more intensive procedures. 

Anesthetic and sedation ensure that your child feels 100% comfortable during their appointment. It will also relieve their nerves and cause them to feel euphoric, relaxed, or put them in a peaceful sleep until the procedure is over.

Relieve Pain & Anxiety With Dental Sedation in White Plains Today!

Does your child have an upcoming dental appointment that they seem apprehensive about? Dental anxiety is extremely common, especially among children, but your child doesn’t need to suffer to get adequate dental treatment. Contact us at Miles of Little Smiles in White Plains to schedule an appointment with Dr. Mila Belgrade today.