What is general anesthesia?
Children having extensive treatment needs, acute situational anxiety, uncooperative age-related behavior, disabilities or medical conditions may not be able to receive dental care in a traditional manner. These children may require the use of general anesthesia to receive care in a safe and caring manner. General anesthesia is a drug induced loss of consciousness. While we can treat these children at a hospital or outpatient surgical facility, treatment at these facilities may not be covered by insurance and can be cost-prohibitive. As an alternative we offer the services of a dental anesthesiologist who provides in-office IV sedation and/or general anesthesia. Using the services of a dental anesthesiologist offers many benefits for the patient and parent. Access to care is improved, i.e. the patient can be treated in a safe and humane manner.
General anesthesia provides a way of effectively completing dental care while a child is unconscious. Due to the risks of any surgical procedure and high cost, usually only children with severe anxiety and/or severe tooth decay are recommended for general anesthesia. Typically, these children are young or have compromised health issues. Standard behavior management techniques may not be effective to accomplish treatment.
General Anesthesia is an anesthetic management technique, which uses intravenous and/or inhalation agents to render a patient completely unconscious (asleep) for the dental procedure. This technique is recommended for very young children, the very resistant child, severe dental phobics, and special needs patients who are unable to cooperate for dental treatment.
Related Questions
- How long can effects of general anesthesia last? Im still having some tingling in fingers and toes and slight coordination issues. Nothing major, but its annoying. Im 5 weeks post op.
- What are the Instructions for Use of the Eldor needle for combined spinal epidural anesthesia?
- Does hearing loss after spinal anesthesia differ between young and elderly patients?
