Oral Anesthsia Vs. IV for Almost 5 Year Old

My daughter went through the same thing last summer when she was 3 with 6 cavities. We were going to try the laughing gas in 3 visits, but in the first visit, she was not cooperating, so we decided to spend the extra money to go with the IV and anesthesia and get it all done at once. She doesn't remember a thing and loves going to the dentist now. It was worth paying the extra money.

I would NOT have general anesthesia in a dentist's office and I would not allow my son to. While anesthetic complications are fortunately rare, when they occur they are serious or potentially fatal. If DS needed anesthesia for a dental procedure, we would have it done at our city's Children's Hospital where the anesthesia would be administered and monitored by pediatric anesthesiologists. Will your dentist consider staging the fillings so each procedure would be shorter and maybe you could go with novacaine?

My son had to get 3 cavities filled when he was 4 years old and we tried the oral sedation(demerol) with laughing gas but after an hour they brought my son out (because parents were not allowed in the back) and told me that he was uncooroperative. They suggested the IV sedation and I was too scared for my son to try this so I switched to another pediactric dentist. At this dentist they did the same oral sedation and they let me stay next to my son the whole time and were easily able to fix the cavities. Now my son is 8 and he has had some more cavities all fixed by oral sedation and he loves the dentist. Both dentists were pediactric dentists but I think it helped that I was able to stay next to him. I hope this helps, Good Luck!

I'm in the same boat as you. Our 4yr old has a tooth that needs to be pulled (he knocked it loose about a month ago, now its barely loose, but per the xray it is starting to die and either needs fixed or to come out). He also has 3 small cavities. His dentist wants us to do IV anesthesia (with a pediatric anesthesiologist in the office) because he is very anxious when getting into the dentist chair - screams, cries, carries on, but does cooperate (mostly). However, our medical insurance won't cover the anesthesia & that alone would be $700 (and that's the cash discount)! Oral sedation of atarax & demerol would still apparently cost us like $210 (not covered by insurance). I think he will need something, but the cost of IV sedation & the dental work would be nearly $1000! We do want what's best for our son, and in talking to the dentist office we would be fine if we waited a year to see how he does with fillings when he's a little older - but the 1 tooth does need to come out. I'm curious to see what others will say to your question as well. Just know you are not alone. BTW, I don't think the gas would work for my son which is why we are leaning toward oral sedation. Good luck!

My son has had five oral surgeries that required sedation. Our only option was putting him completely out. If we could have done something "lighter," I would have appreciated and used that option. He did fine each time, but coming out of the anesthesia takes longer than the procedures.

I would go for IV. It would be the best end result. much less stress on him.

Absolutely have the IV and let them sleep, get it all done at once. It is much more humane. They go in, go to sleep, wake up, want to go play and eat. It's only h*** o* the mom or dad.

By the way, your dental care is adequate. Your child may just have weaker enamel. Some kids never brush their teeth and never have a single cavity others brush numerous times per day and have multiple cavities. It really comes down to genetics at that level.

I hope you let them do it all at once and get it done. It takes a little while to do them all but it's one visit and it's all over.

Our dentist does his work in the outpatient surgery clinic at the hospital and uses an actual anesthesiologist in an operating room.

What about novacain? I have never gotten stronger anesthesia than that, and I would never start with the stronger stuff for my kids. Yes, I can imagine that some kids will freak out about getting cavities filled and not open their mouths, but why start with the strong medicine. You can always turn to the laughing gas or IV if novacain doesn't work.

Dentists often want to do what is easiest for them and have no faith in the child or parent. It is less risky for their time and schedule for them to just knock a kid out. But you have to make a decision based on your child and not what makes this easier on the dentist. A good dentist will work with you on this.

My daughter (at 6) had baby teeth pulled out with novacain. They numb the gum and then give the shot. Please consider this third option.

Are they going to do this in more than one visit?
And the 2nd opinion Dr. agreed there were 8 cavities?

Our DD (4.5 at the time) had 3 cavities. I opted to just do novacaine-I did not want her sedated.
I also told her what was going to happen (not that it was a shot) but that there would be a pinch and then her mouth would feel funny and then the drill feels bumpy. Not fun-but not horrible if you know what is going to happen.

I wish you knew my kid...I panicked and prayed about both (done in 2 visits) appts. for weeks. She did awesome.

She was a little uncomfortable, but I was the one who cried.

Our dentist was great w/ her and she loved that.

If they won't let you back there w/ him-run and don't look back.

We took her to Build a Bear afterwards...that was a great incentive for her. :)

The price difference is HUGE, I totally agree.
We went w/ a pediatric dentist who 1st did the oral sedation. After an hour in the lobby, the "sleepy juice" really kicked in and then they used laughing gas and lidocain. We made it into 2 seperate appts, since she had at least 6 cavities. ALSO, what really helps is loading up an MP3 player or IPod with his favorite songs or listening to a favorite movie. It helps drown out the sound of the drill. My little one totally fell asleep during and after the procedures. She would sleep for 2 hours after we came home.
Just make sure he doesn't chew on his lips after, since he won't be able to feel them for a while.

I still was a complete basket case about all the sedation, but this dentist only works that way. I now take her to our regular dentist. she is still apprehensive, but thankfully has not had any more cavities. I would only do general at a hospital like the OP mentioned and if it was absolutely necessary. Try the less invasive/less expensive route first.

Not sure if our dental nurses are in house at the moment since they work in another part of the building. Oh I work for anesthesiologists. Anyway, message me if you want me to wander over there and see if they can answer your questions. We are a rather large practice, one of the things we do is have two vans with anesthesiology equipment that are taken to dentist offices to perform the anesthesia. A lot of our cases are small children.

My son had a mess of fillings, we had him knocked out with the IV since it gives the anesthesiologist better control over the level of medication. They monitor vitals blah blah blah.....yeah I am an accountant. :p

Okay looking at the new posts. You get gas to relax and then they insert the IV.

To the try it the other way and see how it goes, only an anesthesiologist or a nurse anesthetist under the supervision of an anesthesiologist can administer anesthesia!!!!! Dentists generally do not keep an anesthesiologist on staff they and their insurance are too darn expensive!! Each group has a different way but they travel to the dentist office on the days the dentist is doing these procedures. So if you try with novocaine and it doesn't work you will be coming back when the anesthesiologist is there.

I think it depends a lot on the child. When my daughter was 4 she had 3 small cavities filled (none since, thankfully, she is now 7). She is a very compliant , mild mannered, and calm child. She had only topical numbing and novocaine and did great! She still has no fears or concerns about seeing the dentist.
My son on the other hand is much more high strung, he struggled with getting the painless (but a bit awkward, I guess) sealants put on his molars, and he was 8 at the time. I am glad we have never had to face the decision about filling cavities with him. But if we ever had to I think I would opt for the gas (assuming my dentist was comfortable with that, of course). I definitely think he would need to be somewhat sedated, but I worry that getting the IV placed would be just as traumatic for him as being awake with novocaine.

Hi T.,
I always tell my story in this situation because last summer I was in your shoes with my 3 yr pld. She had to have all 4 of her top teeth pulled and everyone of her teeth porcelain crowned due to a birth defect. I put it off for as long as I could but I didn't want her to be in pain. We went the iv sedation way and im so glad we did. It was done in 20 minutes total and to this day she loves the dentist. She does remember some things but was never in pain. The gave her a cocktail and she got loopy then went back on her own, without me. I was a blubbering sobbing mess in the waiting room. I think the nurses were more worriedfor me but I just couldn't help it! The only thing ill warn you about that could happen because it did to mine, her mouth was very swollen and she looked like someone took a bat to her baby face. I nearly fainted, literally. The swelling was gone within a few hours but both of her eyes did get black. Noone warned me of this! She did cry when they woke her up too. Overall its very worth it. You don't want her to be afraid of the dentist. We tried to do nitrous and she wasn't having it. Just know that they do this all the time and they know what they are doing. Best of luck love!

My son had a few. He had the laughing gas and did fine. We had to go 3 times because he couldn't sit still long enough to do more than 1 at a time. He's fine and still likes going to the dentist.

My daughter has always had, the Laughing Gas.
Then, a shot of novacaine if needed.
It was fine.
She has had, several cavities.

With IV... doesn't there have to be an Anesthesiologist Doctor???? There too???? Or in a Hospital????