Sedating a Young Child for Dental Work Should Be a Last Resort 

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The New York Times reports that some dentists worry that sedation and anesthesia are “overused as profit-making tools,” and in kids, the practice can be dangerous, or even deadly. A University of Washington study found 44 cases over three decades in which patients died after sedation or general anesthesia for dental work. Most of those patients were two to five years old.

Children under six don’t have as much of an oxygen reserve in their blood as older children or adults, so their bodies can’t compensate for short lapses in oxygen, one pediatric dentist explained. Experts say sedation should not be a first-line treatment—instead, parents should consider and discuss alternatives such as silver diamine fluoride, a liquid that can be brushed on less advanced cavities to stop the infection, or placing a temporary filling until the child is old enough to sit still for a regular one.

Should Kids Be Sedated for Dental Work? | The New York Times


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