Sedation in Pediatric Dentistry

by Dr. Paul Bayad

One of the most common methods used to sedate children in dentistry is nitrous oxide also known as laughing gas. Nitrous oxide is used for its calming effect. It makes the patient feel more relaxed. You breathe in nitrous thru a mask that covers your nose. It takes a few minutes ti notice the effect. Patients describe the feeling as being more unconcerned, happy and slightly numb. The dosage of nitrous could be controlled by the patients by their own breathing. The more you breathe thru your nose, the more you feel the effect. There is no long lasting effect of nitrous.

Another way of sedating children in dentistry is conscious sedation. The word conscious is emphasized which means the patient is awake and responsive but feeling sedated. To get conscious sedation patients can be given meds orally which is in liquid form. There are few meds used for conscious sedation in pediatric dentistry. Chloral hydrate and hydroxyzine are some of the most common meds used which make the patients sleepy and sedated. Basically, the goal is to accomplish a more cooperative patient with less movement so the treatment can be completed.