Sedation Dentistry

Basically, anesthesia is the use of medicine to prevent the feeling of pain or sensation during surgery or other procedures that might be painful (such as getting stitches or having a wart removed). Given as an injection or through inhaled gases or vapors, different types of anesthesia affect the nervous system in various ways by blocking nerve impulses and, therefore, pain.

Our highly trained professionals use a wide variety of safe, modern medications and extremely capable monitoring technology. An anesthesiologist is a doctor who specializes in giving and managing anesthetics — the medications that numb an area of the body or help your child fall and stay asleep.

In addition to administering anesthesia medications before the surgery, the anesthesiologist will:

• monitor your child's major bodily functions (such as breathing, heart rate and rhythm, body temperature, blood pressure, and blood oxygen levels) during surgery
• address any problems that might arise during surgery
• manage any pain your child may have after surgery
• keep your child as comfortable as possible before, during, and after surgery

Parents' Concerns

When your child is having any kind of procedure or dental surgery, it's understandable to be a little uneasy. You probably have plenty of questions about everything — from how the anesthesia is given, to what your child will experience, to where you're allowed to be.

What happens will, of course, depend on the type of procedure your child is getting and the kind of anesthesia that will be used, either:

• general — in which your child would be "deeply sedated"
• local — when one small part of the body is numbed

To ease your mind and feel more informed, here's a quick look at what may happen before, during, and after on the day of your child's procedure in our office, just as it is in the hospital setting.

Although you may be able to talk to the anesthesiologist a day or two prior to the operation, you may not meet until that day. Either way, the anesthesiologist will go over your child's medical history and information thoroughly, so that he or she can give the right amount of anesthetic medications tailored specifically to your child's individual needs.

The anesthesiologist may also order additional tests (such as X-rays, blood or laboratory tests) to help figure out the best possible personalized anesthetic plan for your child.

In addition to doing a physical examination of your child's airways, heart, and lungs, the anesthesiologist will also want to go over your child's medical history, which will include asking about:

• your child's current and past health
• your family's health
• any medications, supplements, or herbal remedies your child is taking (consider bringing a list of exactly what your child takes, detailing how much and how often)
• any previous reactions your child or any blood relative has had to anesthesia
• any allergies (especially to foods, medications, or latex) your child may have
• whether your child smokes, drinks alcohol, or takes recreational drugs (this usually applies to older teenagers)

The anesthesiologist and/or Dr. Gunsaulis will also let you know whether your child can eat or drink before surgery. It's important to make sure that your child doesn't eat anything prior to surgery (usually nothing after midnight the day before the operation). You'll get specific instructions based on your child's age, medical condition, and the time of day of the procedure.

Why is eating before surgery an issue? The body normally has reflexes that prevent food from being aspirated (or inhaled) into the lungs when it's swallowed or regurgitated (thrown up). Anesthetic medications can suspend these reflexes, which could cause food to become inhaled into the lungs if there is vomiting or regurgitation under anesthesia. Sometimes, though, the anesthesiologist will say it's OK to drink clear liquids or take specific medications a few hours before surgery.

To ensure your child's safety during the surgery, it's extremely important to answer all of the anesthesiologist's questions as honestly and thoroughly as possible. Things that may seem harmless could interact with or affect the anesthesia and how your child reacts to it.

If your child is having general anesthesia, the anesthesiologist will be there before, during, and after the operation to monitor the anesthetic medications and ensure your child is constantly receiving the right dose. With general anesthesia, the anesthesiologist uses a combination of various medications to:

• relieve anxiety
• keep your child asleep
• minimize pain during surgery and relieve pain afterward (using drugs called analgesics)
• relax the muscles, which helps to keep your child still
• block out the memory of the surgery

After surgery, the anesthesiologist reverses the anesthesia process to help your child "wake up." It usually takes about 45 minutes to an hour for children to recover completely from general anesthesia. This recovery period is monitored by specially trained nurses either in the post-anesthesia care unit of the hospital or the recovery room in-office. During recovery, your child is still under the care of the anesthesiologist.