It is a well-known fact that young children experience great fear and distress during dental examination and treatment, and often refuse to undergo these procedures. Moreover, in our country where misbehaving children are threatened with needles by their parents, performing dental procedures on these children later becomes a big problem.
Being able to control behavior in child patients and ensure cooperation during treatment is crucial for providing quality dental care. Conscious sedation is one of the most suitable alternatives for performing necessary dental procedures and treatments in many patient groups, such as extremely anxious patients, children who cannot cooperate, mentally retarded or physically disabled patients.
Conscious sedation is a state where consciousness is minimally suppressed, the patient can keep their airway open independently and continuously, and can respond to physical and verbal stimuli.
Conscious sedation can be used safely in both adults and children. It has no known side effects. In adults, it is administered intravenously and the dosage is adjusted according to weight. In children, there are forms of sedation that can be administered orally, rectally, or nasally. Additional doses can be given depending on the duration of the dental treatment. Half an hour after the procedure, the patient can go home. When considering the benefits of conscious sedation for both the patient and the dentist, the effort and time spent is seen as worthwhile.
What do we achieve with conscious sedation:
1- It creates a comfortable and safe environment for the patient, completely eliminates fear and anxiety.
2- It raises the pain threshold and prevents feeling pain.
3- It provides an extremely comfortable working environment for the dentist by eliminating stress and preventing unwanted reflexes.
4- It prevents psychological traumas that would leave deep scars in the memories of children who are prone to fear.
GENERAL ANESTHESIA
General anesthesia is the only solution in dentistry for spastic, autistic, and mentally disabled patients, as well as hyperactive and small children who do not comply with the dentist. General anesthesia provides the necessary environment for the dentist to work comfortably and safely in the treatment of these patients and brings relief to the distressing situation of the patient’s relatives. Sedation is the best practice for short procedures. However, general anesthesia is the only alternative for long-term procedures.
In addition, general anesthesia is an ideal solution for adult patients who are very afraid of dental treatment. All dental procedures, from the simplest to the most difficult, can be easily performed under general anesthesia and the patient’s fears can be eliminated.