Treatment for children constitutes a large portion of procedures under general anesthesia in our dental clinic. We have been performing such procedures for years, even for very young patients – as young as 2 years old.
Children often experience intense fear and stress during dental visits, which is even worse for young patients with advanced tooth decay. A child suffering from tooth pain may refuse to open their mouth, making it difficult for the dentist to even conduct an accurate diagnosis without causing significant stress.
General anesthesia, which is the most effective way to fight pain and stress, is often the best, and sometimes the only, solution in such cases.
Advantages of Dental Treatment Under General Anesthesia for Children
- Complete elimination of pain, stress, and traumatic experiences
Under general anesthesia, children feel no pain or stress and have no memory of the procedure, which prevents any traumatic experiences that could discourage them from future dental treatments and negatively affect their well-being.
- Immediate improvement: multiple dental procedures in one visit
General anesthesia allows us to address multiple dental issues in one session, ensuring an immediate improvement in the child’s health and well-being.
Most treatments can be completed in one visit. Whenever this is not possible to be done, due to e.g., very advanced caries affecting most of the teeth or the need to conduct a multi-stage treatment (e.g., root canal therapy), the doctor will first treat the most damaged teeth causing pain and affecting the child's overall health. This ensures significant improvement after one visit. After pain elimination, some older children may cooperate without fear in subsequent visits and undergo further therapy with local anesthesia.
- Precise, accurate, and safe performance, even for complex procedures
Dental treatment under general anesthesia allows the dentist to work freely without the interference of anxiety-driven defense reflexes from the child, such as turning the head or closing the mouth. This guarantees precise and accurate execution of complex procedures like root canal therapy or surgical tooth extractions.
Dental Treatment for Primary Teeth Under General Anesthesia
Many parents mistakenly believe that primary teeth don’t require treatment since they will eventually fall out and be replaced by permanent teeth. Additionally, caries in young children is often difficult to detect. A small child is not yet fully aware of their dental problems and cannot communicate them effectively.
As a result, many young patients come to us with advanced caries. In such cases, our dental clinic recommends treating, or if necessary, removing primary teeth under general anesthesia. Although full sedation, as mentioned earlier, is a serious procedure, it often helps prevent dangerous complications that could arise from untreated primary teeth.
Untreated primary teeth can lead to:
- Impaired development of permanent teeth
- Dangerous dental infections that can weaken immunity, lead to sinus infections, ear and throat infections, chronic tonsillitis, and serious, often irreversible complications such as hearing loss, heart diseases (e.g., endocarditis), and kidney or joint damage (rheumatic disease).