Sedation for a 2 1/2 year old?

[mymiracleboy]

 Ok....Im having a serious problem.  I am stuck on what I should do.  Maybe you ladies can help me.

Joel, my 2 1/2 year old son has a dentist appointment next Tuesday.  Just about a year ago, he chipped a tooth.  I called my dentist and she doesnt see kids under 5.  So I called my insurance company and they gave me the name of a couple people who might but no one would see him because he was so little.  So I called my MIL who is a nurse and she said 'dont worry about it, dont waste your money on dental work for him because they are baby teeth, they are just going to come out in a few years anyway.'  So I left it alone. 

Fast forward to Sunday night.  I was helping him brush his teeth and looked at this tooth.  Its looking pretty bad, kind of a yellow green color.  And the color looks like it is moving to the next tooth.  So I found a dentist that will see him.  She tells me on the phone that on his first visit they will do xrays, cleaning and determine what to do about that tooth.  She also said that it might be a cavity (im not sure how because he doesnt eat sugar that much).  But she said if it needs to be filled they will have to sedate him for the procedure.  This brought a red flag to me!

I called my MIL again and she warned me against that.  Saying that sedating a child of his age can be dangerous.  There are side effects to the medication such as vomiting and nausea.  My husband is very cautious about this as well.  Im not sure what to do....should we let them do it? 

What would you do?  What questions should I ask the dentist?  Help!

 

[Rachael]

Apr. 14, 2009 at 1:32 PM

what kind of sedation?  My DD was 3 when she had her first filling and they gave her some of the gas.  She was fine and alert for the whole thing.  There are side effects to everything... if his tooth gets infected that could be worse than any sedation you put him through.  Good Luck!!!

[ncbirdie]

Apr. 14, 2009 at 1:40 PM

http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/US/OC/Information/OralHealthAtAnyAge/InfantsAndChildren/ToddlersChildren/SedationTechniques.cvsp

http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/health/dental-sedation.html

http://www.talkaboutsupport.com/group/alt.support.dental-phobia/messages/3536.html

[MorganBrooke]

Apr. 14, 2009 at 4:12 PM

If it helps put you more at ease, Sophia has been sedated twice when she was around 18 months. Once with an IV sedation, and another with a liquid (oral) form of sedation. She did fine both times, just cranky afterwards. - This was for her ABR and CT scan related to her hearing loss -

I'd definitely get it taken care of if it's moving to another tooth. It likely hurts, but he may not know how to express it. Either way, I hope everything turns out ok and he'll be fine. (((HUGS)))