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3 year olds and Anesthesia
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zumbamama
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| DD fell and hit her two front teeth several times over the past year. First it turned grey, now it is a brownish-gray. Dentist said not to worry, just to keep it clean and we would have to accept the discoloration until her adult teeth come. Then my job laid off people and cut some of our benefits, dental being one of them! So I waited awhile to have her teeth checked again, only she grinds them and has practically worn them all the way down. I see a little white blister on her gum, but it goes away with the baby orajel. I took her to the dentist last week, and he says I can either go to a specialist who would have to put her totally under to remove the teeth, or I could wait another 6 months, practice playing dentist with her, so that she could potentially be cooperative enough to only have local anesthesia. He said unless she was in excruciating pain, it was probably safe to wait 6 months. I am really scared to put her under, but I don't want it to get infected either. DH is a holistic practioner, and he has a collection of articles on anesthesia gone wrong on kids. So I want to get some opinions...she is not in excruciating pain and can eat, drink, play normally...so should I wait 6 months and do the local? Or do I argue with DH and go have her put under now? |
Anonymous
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I am not a dentist and so I can't give advice on that. But my husband is an anesthesiologist, and I can offer some perspective there.
First of all, NEVER allow a dentist to put your daughter under. They take some courses in sedation, but are not trained anesthesiologists. If something goes wrong, the complications could be deadly. In a hospital setting, it is very safe. Of course, you should make sure that you are using a pediatric anesthesiologist. To practice peds anesthesia, the doctor has to either do a residence in both peds and anesthesia or do a fellowship after their 4 years of residency. They are highly trained. But, don't just use any anesthesiolgist regardless. This is the person responsible for keeping your daughter safe and alive. Arrange to meet with the anesthesiologist ahead of time, ask questions and have him/her explain the process to you. The peds anesthesiologists that I know all have wonderful bedside manner. They are used to dealing with nervous kids and parents and should be able to put you at ease. If for any reason you don't like the first person you talk to, ask to meet with someone else. Depending on the facility, you may or may not be able to request a specific anesthesiologist, but if you're not comfortable, switch to a different hospital! Good luck! |
Anonymous
| Sorry to hijack the thread, but I have a question for the PP. DD's dentist wants to give her nitrous oxide (laughing gas?) next time to fill a cavity. I'm of course worried about that. Is that safe to do in the dentist's office? |
Anonymous
| PP here - please know that I am NOT an MD. I"ve had nitrous at the dentist. It's safe for adults - it is not general anesthesia. I have no idea if it's safe for kids. I would talk to your pediatrician. |
zumbamama
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| Has anyone had experience with laser dentistry? I have heard some horror stories about that too. |
Anonymous
| is the tooth abcessed? did the dentist tell you the tooth has a cavity, or is abcessed? Just b/c it turned grey does not mean it needs to come out. The best thing you can do is leave it in place unless it is indeed infected. I have seen teeth completly knocked out (children's teeth), placed back in the socket and stayed until the adult tooth came it. As far as anesthesia, totally agree wtih one of the post, do not have a dentist give you child any thing other than local. Not worth the risk. I would not let a dentist put me under! Good luck with your childs tooth, try not to worry to much about it, lots of kids get there front teeth knocked out, or hit hard enough to cause damage. Only time it could cause a problem with the adult tooth is if it were decayed and it stayed in and caused decay in the tooth under it. not likely, but I have seen it happen. You have quite a few years before the adult teeth come in. |
zumbamama
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| OP here, the dentist did not specify if it was a cavity or abcess, only that it was discolored from impact and that she had ground them down in her sleep....so I'm not sure. I suppose if he said it's safe to wait 6 months until she can have it removed with local, that is what I'll do. Your reassurance is very helpful though...I def. feel better holding off on the full anesthesia...too scary! I was hoping he could do the local last week and remove it, so I could enroll her in pre-k and ballet without the brown stubs, but I can wait just enroll her anyway. |
Anonymous
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What do the brown stubs have to do with participating in Ballet.
My child (3 years as well) had surgery at georgetown and the ped anesthesiologist was wonderful. I would only have a specialist put my child under as there are many things that can happen with a child that one does not need to worry about with an adult. |