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General anesthesia and sedation in pedodontics
Advanced Behavior Guidance Methods
Although pediatric dentists prefer to apply treatments consciously in the clinic as the primary method, the complexity and comprehensiveness of the treatment needs, the child's cognitive and emotional maturity level or fear-anxiety, special care needs, complex medical problems, urgent dental treatment needs, difficulties in accessing treatment. Due to advanced behavior guidance methods: sedation or general anesthesia may be required. Before both methods, the pediatric patient is examined by a specialist anesthesiologist and after additional medical tests (blood tests, x-rays, etc.), it is decided to apply sedation or general anesthesia depending on the characteristics of the dental treatment intervention and the medical condition of the child. In sedation-general anesthesia applications, the medical management of the patient is carried out by the anesthesiologist and his team, and the management of dental treatment interventions is carried out by the dentist and his team in the operating room, with basic and advanced life support equipment and a competent team.
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Sedation
It is used for short-term interventions that do not require the use of much equipment or water in the mouth.
General Anesthesia
It is easier to ensure the patient's airway safety, provides comfort for the water and equipment used during work in the mouth, and is used for interventional needs of different complexity.
General information about pediatric dental surgeries under general anesthesia
The complexity of the dental treatments to be performed determines the duration of the operation. Treatments that are likely to produce successful results in one session are preferred, therefore, for some teeth, complex treatments that can be completed in more than one attempt or extraction of teeth that are likely to fail may be preferred. After the surgery is completed, when the child regains free breathing and consciousness on his own, he is first kept in the recovery room in the operating room and then transferred to the ward for full recovery. The patient is discharged after being followed up in the ward with support such as nutrition and pain control, depending on the operation and medical condition. Depending on the scope of the surgery and the procedures performed, wounds may appear in the mouth and lips. In children who have had tooth extractions, bleeding-stopping tampons, stitches, and post-operative ice-cold application may be required to control bleeding. Due to dental anesthesia, care should be taken to prevent children from biting their lips after surgery. Depending on the type of treatments performed, temporary effects such as sensitivity in the mouth and discomfort with multiple fillings and restorations may occur. Most of the time, the use of painkillers is not even necessary in this process. According to the doctor's advice after the surgery, healthy wound healing and routine oral care should be started as soon as possible. In most cases, the nutrition can be gradually changed to liquid-semi-liquid and solid foods on the first day.
On the day of surgery, the child must comply with the recommended fasting and thirst period according to his age and medical condition, be in a healthy state (no fever, cough, upper respiratory tract infection, diarrhea, etc.) before elective dental treatments, and must not have herpes-contagious oral infection around the mouth. Although pediatric dental surgeries are often planned on a daily basis, depending on the scope of the child and the treatment plan and the child's progress that day, hospitalization and follow-up may be required in some circumstances.
