Sedation Dentistry

First-time patients or patients that have had bad experiences in the past, can feel anxious and frightened when visiting a dentist. Dr. Julie will speak with your child and work with your family to try to make the visit more comfortable. Methods such as Tell-Show-Do may help your child to understand the process and feel more at ease. Nitrous Oxide, also called laughing gas or happy air, may be used to help reduce anxiety during appointments. Nitrous oxide can help reduce nervousness, however, it will not make your child stop feeling, talking, or thinking. Nitrous oxide can act as a distraction during the appointment. It will not make your child do or act funny like on America’s Funniest Home Videos. Nitrous Oxide will also not make your child stop feeling, so a local anesthetic to numb the tooth might also be needed. Taking a compassionate approach to helping your child and family, Dr. Julie spends time talking and listening to your and your child’s concerns. Although pediatric dentists are specially trained to help ease children’s anxiety, there are some times in which sedation is required. Whether your child has one cavity or twenty, you may elect to work with our in-office anesthesiologist. The anesthesiologist provides an I.V. sedation so your child is completely asleep. While asleep, Dr. Julie can complete all of the dental treatment in one visit.