Children with anxiety, many cavities or who are very young benefit from sedation. Providing a safe and positive experience for your child is our priority. All of our pediatric dental specialists are certified to provide in-office sedation for children.
We recommend sedation for some dental treatments so that we can provide the optimal treatment for your child and prevent any dental trauma. We would love to meet you and your child to assess their cooperation level and discuss what is the best option for your family.
Nitrous oxide works well for older (and cooperative) children, those who have a gag reflex and for small procedures. We do not recommend nitrous oxide if the child is very young, cannot tolerate a mask on the face or has a medical condition as a contraindication.
Laughing gas creates a feeling of relaxation and helps with mild anxiety. This is the lightest form of sedation we offer and it’s safe. This form of sedation rarely has any side effects but may result in nausea and vomiting.
A mask gently sits over your child’s nose. They breathe in and a feeling of relaxation results in a few minutes. Your child is awake the whole time and can talk and move as they wish.
This is the most common sedation we offer for children between the ages of four and 10 who are cooperative, able to take x-rays and can sit through a dental exam and cleaning. To determine if your child is a good candidate for conscious sedation, we check your child’s medical history, airway and calculate the medication based on their weight.
The sedation is a mix of an oral sedative medication and nitrous oxide (laughing gas) and comes in different flavours. Your child will be awake but drowsy and may often nap through the procedure. After the treatment, we give young children a sugar-free lollipop to help keep their experience positive. Our team will go over the recovery instructions with you and confirm the treatment plan.
In preparation for conscious sedation, your child must fasts for six hours prior to the procedure. Fasting is necessary to prevent food regurgitation and aspiration. The most common side effect of conscious sedation is nausea and vomiting.
This is what we call “putting a child to sleep” for dental treatment. This option will be recommended if your child has a medical condition, airway issues, is very fearful or unable to take x-rays.
General sedation is administered by a certified medical/dental anesthesiologist in an offsite outpatient surgical centre. Once the child is asleep, we do all the dental work necessary. Your child will not feel or remember anything.
Yes, dental sedation is safe for healthy children. We check the medical history, airway and BMI to see if your child is the right candidate for sedation. We always take the utmost care to ensure your child is safe and comfortable. All of our pediatric dentists are certified to provide in-office sedation for children.
Most children feel lightheaded and drowsy. At the same time they feel relaxed and calm with reduced anxiety.
Dental sedation involves either gently placing a silicon mask over the face and/or drinking oral liquid medication.
Depending on the type of sedation, it will take your child from two to eight hours to fully recover from drowsiness. We recommend that your child waits 24 hours before returning to normal activities.
Thank you so much to the Playtime Pediatric Dentistry team for caring for our son. The team was incredibly kind, supportive, and efficient through a rather stressful time for us. The patient and family experience was great and I would highly recommend this clinic to all of our friends with children!
A.M.
