Child-friendly Sedation Dentistry for an Anxiety-free Dental Experience

Like adults, some children are just too fearful of receiving the dental care they need. For such kids, Dr. Hee Jee Yoon recommends conscious sedation with nitrous oxide to create a calming and pleasant experience during pediatric dental procedures.

Whether your child has dental fear from a past negative experience or has picked it up from adults or spooky movies, Hoover Dental Center can help. We offer safe and easy-to-administer sedation dentistry to ensure your child has an anxiety-free experience in our dental office.

What to expect from nitrous oxide sedation

Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is a form of conscious sedation administered through a mask. During treatment, nitrous oxide is combined with oxygen, and the right mixture of the two gasses is kept at a safe level for the body.

The sedation effects kick in immediately after the mask is worn. Patients experience a floating sensation and sometimes tingling in their hands and feet. This feeling shouldn’t worry you — it’s a sign the sedation is working. Nitrous oxide keeps your child relaxed but awake to respond during the procedure. The level of sedation can be refined to ensure the patient is comfortable yet alert.

Once the procedure is over, the level of nitrous oxide is minimized to zero while oxygen flow is increased. After a few minutes, the sedation wears out, and your child feels completely normal.

Tooth tip: on the eve of your child’s dental visit, ensure they don’t eat or drink anything after midnight. The effects of the sedation may induce nausea and vomiting. For more pre-sedation preparation, please consult your pediatric dentist.

Benefits of anxiety-free dentistry in children

For children with fear of the dentist, sleep dentistry has numerous benefits. Sedation helps your child overcome dental anxiety to get the proper dental care. The other advantages include:

• It’s safe
• Provides pain relief — sedation tricks the brain into blocking pain signals
• It’s affordable
• Suitable for patients with the fear of needles
• It quickens the dental procedure — when calm, the dentist can work faster on you

Has your child been avoiding dental appointments because of dental anxiety? We offer kid-friendly sedation dentistry to help your little one overcome the fear of the dentist. If you are in Los Angeles, CA, and its environs, please call (213) 725-2898 to reserve an appointment with Hoover Dental Center for dental fear help.