Medicated sleep

What is medicated sleep?

Medicated sleep is a condition when a child is asleep with the help of special drugs. These drugs can have a soporific and analgesic effect, so during such treatment the dentist can carry out the entire scope of the planned treatment.

What are the indications for the treatment of children in medicated sleep?

• Children under 2 years, and sometimes older, find it difficult to stay still for a long time in a chair, and babies under one year do not understand what is happening, so they are simply scared and do not allow the doctor to carry out the treatment.
• The child has a negative previous experience, so they refuse from the treatment and are afraid of the doctor.
• The clinical picture requires a large volume and long-term treatment.
• There are medical indications such as allergic reactions.
• Children with special needs tolerate treatment under sedation easier.

In order to understand whether there is a need for sleep treatment, you need to make an appointment with a pediatric dentist and then an anesthesiologist.

Is medical sleep harmful?

It is possible and necessary to treat children under sedation! Often children are frightened by medical procedures, behave restlessly, experience serious stress from dental procedures.

This behavior of the child complicates the work of the doctor and increases the risk of an accidental injury and pain. In medical sleep children are calm, they are not afraid and can withstand even a long stay in a dental chair. A pediatric dentist can treat several teeth at once in one visit.

Thanks to modern drugs and equipment, monitoring of all vital functions and high qualification of our experts, all possible risks are minimized.

What tests are needed for treatment under sedation?

Preliminary history of the child’s general condition is collected by a dentist. If the patient does not have any concomitant diseases, it is usually worth passing a standard package of tests:

• CBC;
• coagulogram;
• blood glucose test (fasting);
• general urine analysis;
• children over 14 years – HIV, hepatitis B.

If the patient’s history is aggravated by concomitant diseases, additional examinations may be ordered after consultation with an anesthesiologist.

How to prepare a child for medical sleep treatment?

Before the treatment in the medicated sleep it is not allowed to eat for 4-6 hours and to drink for 2 hours before the planned manipulations. If it happens so that the child ate or drank something later than the recommended time, it is necessary to inform the anesthesiologist.

Medical sleep treatment can be discontinued or postponed if the patient develops infectious diseases such as fever, cough, runny nose, diarrhea and mouth rash.

Before the procedure, it is necessary to provide a certificate from the pediatrician and undergo the necessary examinations as prescribed.

How does the sedation process work?

Parents and their child enter the office. Being in the arms of dad or mom, the child falls asleep. After that, the parents go out and the child is transferred to a dental chair.

Then the treatment itself takes place. After the dentist has finished all the manipulations, the child wakes up.

After the patient awakes from the state of medicated sleep, they may remain drowsy for some time. Children can get enough sleep and come to their senses in the ward in the presence of their parents. Therefore, the child, when not sleeping, is constantly with the parents, feeling safe and calm.

Want to know more? Make an appointment with a pediatric dentist at Astra Dent.