A dental emergency is never a pleasant experience to go through. It can be especially troubling for a child. In some cases, dental emergencies will require that your child be sedated. This may not be the case for adults, but with scared children, many emergency procedures are best done with general anesthetic. Removing broken teeth or anything else that requires that the child remain still and calm is often done with sedation. This can be a very scary concept for both yourself and your child, but it is quite common. Here are some ways to calm both of you during an emergency dental sedation:
Find Out Exactly What Is Going To Happen
First of all, ask as many questions as you need to about the procedure. Even if it has been explained once, do not feel badly about asking additional questions until you are satisfied and comfortable with the situation. If your child is old enough, be sure to tell he or she what is going to happen as well. You do not have to go into great detail, but let them know that they will be asleep for a while until he procedure is over. Also, ensure that they will not feel any pain, as that is often the primary fear of any emergency situation with a child.
Keep The Child Comfortable
More than anything, you want your child to be comfortable during a dental procedure under sedation. Chances are, you will be leaving the dental office with a very drowsy child that will need to sleep once he or she gets home. Make every effort to make your child comfortable during and after the procedure. Dress them in comfortable clothing before going into the procedure. This way, they can just go straight to bed once they get home. Also, bring their favorite comfort item to the procedure, such as a blanket or stuffed toy. Before you leave for the procedure, have their bed set up and ready to go so that they can go straight to sleep afterward.
Leave Your Other Children Home
Another thing that can add stress to the emergency situation is having your other children around. Your child is going to need your full attention. If possible, leave your other children at home with another parent or babysitter so that you can focus on the child going through an emergency situation.
Once the procedure is over, always be sure to monitor your child for several hours once you get home. They should be sleepy and dizzy while they are waiting for the sedation to fully wear off. However, if you notice any odd symptoms, such as slow breathing or a hard time awaking, be sure to get the child to the emergency room immediately. Click here for info on emergency dentistry.
Share16 December 2016
Being born with naturally soft teeth, I've spent a lot of time in and out of the dentist's office. Not only have I learned a lot about basic dental care, I've also discovered many tips for dealing with broken teeth, extractions, implants, and more. I decided that I wanted to make the most of my experience by sharing what I've learned with others. True first-hand experience is a great teacher, and I knew that my story could help. I created this site to do just that, and I hope that the information here helps you to understand what to expect from your dental problems.