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Dentist for children

Tiffy

Tiffy

New Member
Female
My 6yr daughter went to the dentist and they said she needed a cap but because of her age she would need to be put to sleep fot it. (This was about 2yrs ago) I wasn't comfortable with that so I said no and I was hoping if it fall out soon. Last month she started complaining about it hurting. Even making it hard for her to eat. The dentist offered to do the cap but just give her something to drink which makes then a little loopy. But unfortunately it didn't work with my daughter. They said the only way to fix the tooth is if she is asleep. I'm still uncomfortable with it but feel bad if she is in pain. Has anyone else's child been asleep while having work done? Pros and cons. I'm just not sure what to do.
 
One of our boys is so fidgety that the dentist used nitrous oxide to get him to settle down. The rest of the kids seem to be fine with the regular shot for pain.
 
My nephew was asleep for fillings and pulling some teeth when he was younger than 5. He had been exclusively breastfed but had bottle rot. I think it is standard procedure for kids that age, but for an 8 year old I wouldn't expect that. Maybe get a second opinion? I would expect needing to be asleep for surgery like having wisdom teeth removed. But even root canals can be done with local anesthetic.
 
Many years ago when I was 7 or 8 I think ( so it’s 41 or 42 years ago)
I had 6 teeth removed, they gave me an injection and I was asleep for maybe 45min
I woke up less some teeth spitting blood but less traumatic than had I been awake.
My sister had something similar at the same time but because she was younger (18 months younger than me) they used a gas to put her to sleep.
I don’t think it was a problem. At the time I was not happy about getting the needle when she got the easy option of gas.
Kids teeth are important and easier to sort out when they are younger.
As we get older it doesn’t get any easier to fix.
:)
 
MrB said:
Many years ago when I was 7 or 8 I think ( so it’s 41 or 42 years ago)
I had 6 teeth removed, they gave me an injection and I was asleep for maybe 45min
I woke up less some teeth spitting blood but less traumatic than had I been awake.
My sister had something similar at the same time but because she was younger (18 months younger than me) they used a gas to put her to sleep.
I don’t think it was a problem. At the time I was not happy about getting the needle when she got the easy option of gas.
Kids teeth are important and easier to sort out when they are younger.
As we get older it doesn’t get any easier to fix.
:)
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That is the main reason I want to get it fixed. I don't want her to have problems later on. They bring in an Anesthesiologist from the hospital to do it.. so they are well monitored. But I've heard horrible stories about kids not waking up etc.. just makes me nervous
 
Mine needed to sleep through an impacted tooth exposure. There was no other option. I'm not sure what a cap is or what it fixes. If the problem needs fixing, and there is no other fix, just gotta do it. Just like how we get in our cars and drive places even though it is the most likely cause of unnatural death.
 
Rusty'sTiffy said:
That is the main reason I want to get it fixed. I don't want her to have problems later on. They bring in an Anesthesiologist from the hospital to do it.. so they are well monitored. But I've heard horrible stories about kids not waking up etc.. just makes me nervous
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I remember when we had our first child, Laying awake at night listening to her breathing.
Then not hearing her breathing :eek: getting up and leaning over her listening for a sign….
Then the snuffle or cough :)…back to bed , then no noise:eek:…..get up again….:)repeat. :confused::eek::):confused::eek::)
There came a point where I said to myself , I can’t keep this up. There’s a time where you just have to let go and trust that God can look after them.
My efforts to micro manage or lack of faith…was not helping my position
So I came to “Ok god, over to you, I got to get some rest”
I had confused my position with his.
Know the limits of your position and trust god to fill in the gaps where needed
 
But, there are times when the medical/dental industry lies about things. So you need to well research out issues before the surgery/medicine to make sure that it really is needed and that there is no other way.
 
Rusty'sTiffy said:
The dentist offered to do the cap but just give her something to drink which makes then a little loopy. But unfortunately it didn't work with my daughter.
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What does this mean? Do you mean the medicine didn't work on her? Or that she fought it and still wasn't sedated enough to have the treatment done?

I ask because we had this same problem with our 6 year old son. He has high anxiety and didn't like dentists at all. He wouldn't even open his mouth for them to look inside, and we knew he had problems that needed fixing. The only option was a general anaesthetic at the hospital so they could look in his mouth and fix everything all at once. Unfortunately, the waiting list for this was 6 months. Meanwhile, my son's mouth was constantly hurting.

So, we found a really awesome dentist that works just with children and is well practiced with children with special needs and anxiety. We took him there several times just to visit, with no expectation he would open his mouth, just him getting to know the place and the dentist. When he did eventually open his mouth he opened it really wide and wouldn't shut it again!
He needed several teeth pulled, as well as other treatment, so he would need the sedation. Children can fight the sedation if they're not comfortable, so we spent a lot of time playing games with him at home. We played dentist, he played dentist. We borrowed a hand puppet that was a snail that was very shy and liked to hide in his shell and didn't want to have his mouth looked at, and our son encouraged the snail to open his mouth and he worked on his teeth with a dental tools we had.

When the day came he was absolutely perfect. He drank the medicine and had all the work done with no problems. He then went back for a second go because there was more to do and he was perfect that time too. He went from not even opening his mouth to getting his teeth pulled!

My point is, if it's just a matter of anxiety, worry, behaviour, etc, you can actually work with your child to make it easier for them. It can happen, even when it seems impossible.
 
The juice they gave her didn't relax her enough. She does fine with the dentist normally. But because of the shots etc she freaked out. I love your story. I'm glad he was able to relax. We also use a children's dentist. They are great with the kids.
 
I too share your hesitancy about youth dental surgery.

It's not alarmist or irrational.

Pray and seek wisdom. If you still are uncomfortable...search for a dentist patient and willing to work with you to avoid full sedation. They are out there. Doctors are no different than the general population. Some are just focused on time management, not alternatives to help patients.
 
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