Sedation Dentistry

Ease Your Child’s Anxiety and Improve Their Dental Experience

Dental anxiety is a real issue that prevents millions of patients from receiving the dental care they need. As a pediatric dental office, we want to create an environment where patients can experience anxiety free dentistry.

We know our patients will need to have dental care throughout their lives, and we want to help them feel that visits to the dentist office are positive experiences. Whether your child needs sedation or just a child-friendly environment, Dr. Aaron Christensen and our team are ready to help.

How Can My Child Benefit from Sedation Dentistry?

Sedation dentistry is designed to help relax both your mind and your body during a procedure. Anyone, regardless of age, can benefit from the calming effects of sedation. It is available for most treatments, and can help patients who have:

  • An overactive gag reflex.
  • Complex dental problems.
  • Fear of the sights, sounds, and smells of the dentist’s office.

Sedation dentistry can also allow your child to receive more than one procedure in a short period of time with more comfort and less stress.

Types of Sedation Dentistry

There are a number of ways to administer dental sedation, which allows us to help you choose a method that works for you.

Laughing Gas | This mild sedation method is inhaled through a breathing mask placed over the nose. It allows the patient to feel relaxed and content throughout the procedure, and its effects wear off almost immediately after treatment.

Moderate Sedation | Moderate sedation is ideal for patients with mild to moderate dental anxiety or those who need help holding still for multiple procedures. The intent of moderate sedation is to have the patient relaxed enough to cooperate with dental care but alert enough to follow verbal instructions during the procedure.

IV Sedation | IV sedation is great for patients with significant dental anxiety or those who need advanced procedures. This type of sedation is administered by a nurse anesthetist who will come into the office for the treatment.

General Anesthesia | For patients who are too anxious for other types of sedation to be effective, or those whose health history will not allow other types of sedation, general anesthesia can be an option. General anesthesia is also used with many surgical procedures.

Dr. Christensen maintains surgical privileges at a local surgical center where our patients receive excellent care. The dental work provided in a surgical center is typically the same as in our dental office—the main difference is the type of anesthesia given.

Talk to Us Today About Dental Sedation at Christensen Pediatric Dental

We are confident that we can find the sedation method that is right for your child. To find out more, call our office.