My 7yr old ds has to have a tooth out using dental sedation on monday . Some reassurance please

[travellingwilbury]

I have been ignoring the fact that this is going to happen but now I need to face up to it .

I really don't want to google in case I read horror stories .

Has anybody been through this and can you please offer me some advice .

I am taking him by myself , it is a 50 min drive away . How will he be afterwards ? Is he going to be ok on the journey home ?

I am slightly freaking out about it and not even sure why .

Pretty please

Even if you know bugger all , just a pat on the back and telling me "all will be well" might just do .

My DS had this done a few years back - he was 8. It was a bit disturbing when he was coming round from the sedation, he was groggy and it took about 5 minutes to wake up.
Would recommend holding off the return journey for 30 mins or so to avoid any nausea, but mine was fine within about 20 mins from waking up.
Good luck

Thank you , that sounds not too bad . I have been told he will have to stay off school the next day , which is fine , my dh has taken the day off work to be with him but it just made it all a bit more scary than I had previously thought .

I have also been told I won't be able to stay in the room with him once he is sedated which is worrying me a bit but not much I can do about it I suppose .

I am pleased all went well for you .

DS1 was 3 when he had one out under sedation. We were not allowed to stay in for the duration of the extraction either but as soon as he was in recovery we went in. Watching him go under was the worst bit tbh. I had to have a little sob in the waiting room .

They should let you stay for as long as possible in the recovery and I would agree about holding off the return journey. I also stayed in the back of the car with him (don't know if you will be able to have someone else driving?) as he was so groggy and kept wanting to feel the socket. They must not do this as the clot has to stay in place as long as possible to avoid a dry socket thingy which is very painful apparently. He also dribbled uncontrollably afterwards.

About 3/4 days afterwards his breath started to stink. Apparently this is normal. It was dead tissue/infection working its way out.

Good luck. I do believe this is the very best way to do it so you have as little trauma as possible. Even after all this DS1 still hops happily into the dentists chair.

Sorry, just saw you'll be on your own with him... Maybe have him in the front of the car with you? Is this possible?

The sedation is so light it wears off soon. They won't let him leave until he can walk OK. I'd take a 'sick kit' just in case but DS1 wasn't nauseous.

I think the staying off school thing is because of the clot as much as anything to do with the sedation.

Thank you , yes I will have him in the front with me and as long as we leave by two , which gives us 3 hours after treatment then we should be back in time to pick up my other ds . Do you think that is enough time ? Or should I be priming people to pick up my other ds ?

Will take a sick kit just in case and cuddly bear and keep fingers crossed .

Keeping him calm and quiet afterwards for a day or so could be tricky with him , may have to buy a couple of new dvds and keep him away from his bmx .

What kind of sedation is he having?

My dental phobic dd had a gas&air mixture when she was having her tooth extracted. I sat with her throughout and she was conscious. She was in happyland though and was mostly unfazed by the whole procedure. Was in a bit of a detached state for while afterwards but quite happy and responsive and as it was done at an evening appt. she rested when we got home and then went to bed. Was fine the next day. Oh we did give her some paracetamol before she went to bed.

I just wish I could find another dentist that does treatment this way.

Ha ha @ the BMX!! Seem to remember taking DS1 to a fete the weekend after having it done and he went on the bouncy castle .

I'd have someone lined up for the pm school run just in case. DS1 was a bit fragile and tearful the afternoon after and he needed a long sleep. Would be a shame to move him if he's relaxed/sleeping.

Good luck! Let us know how he gets on.

we've been here too.

things I remember were a) when GA was administered - DD was on my lap for procedure. so desperately wanted to lift her on to the bed but couldn't without the help of two men, she was like a lead weight.

and b) meeting DD back on the ward, she was tired and groggy but all she could see was this blood coming from her mouth and panicing. the cries were horrible.

have you checked your notes from hospital? ours definately say that there should be 1:1 for the return journey then the driver. I would definately check this out, you don't want to be refused a discharge. also, i would find someone to pick up your other DS from school - we didn't get home till after school run, having been there all day. emergencies still took precedence on theatre time.

hope it all goes well. unfortunately, we're going back there again in a few weeks with another extraction.

Thank you everyone ,

I have checked with the clinic and told them I will be on my own for the journey home and that should be fine but not to be surprised if I have to stop off for hugs on the way home .

As it is sedation rather than GA he should be in and out within a couple of hours . Fingers crossed and all that .

I will sort someone out to pick up my other ds I think . That does make sense . Tbh I know I should have thought and planned better but I have been doing the very grown up thing of ignoring it .

I will let you know how we get on tomorrow .

Thanks again , I am feeling a bit calmer . Not looking forward to waking him at 6 tomorrow for breakfast , and then not being able to give him even a drink afterwards .

All done and dusted now .

It was fine , the dentist and staff were brilliant and my ds was very brave .

He was weirded out for a couple of hours afterwards but is now back to normal and moaning about not being able to ride his bike yet . As predicted .

I am really glad to have got it over with , seems a bit much for him to be off school tomorrow now tbh .

Keeping him calm and relaxed seems to be the biggest issue for us .

Wish me luck .

Glad it all went well :)

Well done to all of you.