"Happy Gas"

Getting a child comfortable and relaxed once seated in the dental chair is paramount in having a good experience with a filling appointment.  We have TVs in the ceiling that can show cartoons or children’s programming which can get most kids at ease.  For those who continue to have reservations, many times just taking the time to explain what is going to happen can be enough to allay their fears.  If a child continues to be unruly, the next step is nitrous oxide (laughing gas).  This “Happy Gas” can be the final calming factor for many children.  Every once in a blue moon, we will come across a child who is so fearful that they cannot be safely controlled.  We do not use papoose restraints in our office, so sedation is the only alternative in those cases.  Sedation of children is best handled by pedodontists.  They have special training in sedating children who have a very variable response to many of the medications that are used.  About once in every five years, I refer a child to specialist care.