“Will my daughter be put to sleep for a dental procedure?”
My daughter is 13 and needs to have a root canal done soon. She's afraid of the dentist though and is very anxious about the procedure. Can she be put to sleep?
4 Answers
Many dental surgeons use general anesthesia in their offices. Consult with him if he can give her an ansiolitic to take before surgery.
Ask your dentist what options he or she offers for sedation. It is possible to offer nitrous oxide, oral sedation, intravenous sedation, or general anesthesia with a breathing tube.
You can discuss with your dentist. It can be done with some anxiolytics given by mouth, but can also be done under general anesthetic in special situations, but it may be a costly option.
If your dentist has privileges at a hospital, then the root canal can be done with general anesthesia in an operating room in that hospital. In the dentist's office, the dentist can give your daughter an intramuscular or intravenous injection of a drug or drugs to calm and relax her, but dentists are generally not privileged to administer general anesthesia. In fact, there have been several case reports of children suffering brain damage or death from hypoxia secondary to dentist-administered general anesthesia.
