12 Tips for Parents about Dental Work Under Anestethia

Last Thursday Jackson had to have 6 cavities filled under general anesthesia. When we took him to the dentist 2 months ago, I was thrilled with how well he behaved at the check-up. I remember thinking what a breeze it was and how this dentist trip had been a piece of cake. Which was why I was completely shocked when the dentist told me that he had cavities, let alone six of them.

I felt like I had done everything right. Sure we occasionally let him go to bed with a cup of milk (something I will never, ever do again) but we didn’t let him load up on sweets or drink too much juice or have chewy candy. We also brushed his teeth at least twice a day, every day. And yet he had cavities.

One of the things I didn’t realize was that raisins are just as bad as sticky candies and fruit snacks when it comes to kids teeth. They get caught in between teeth and stick to the grooves in a tooth. Also dental hygiene can be contagious and some people are more susceptible to cavities, like my husband who seems to always have one.

Whatever the cause they were there and had to be dealt with, so on Thursday we took Jack to our local surgery center to have the cavities filled. I did not know what to expect from the visit and even though I had asked a lot of questions, I still felt mostly unprepared when the day arrived. Here are some things you should know if your child is having dental work done under anestethia.

1.  No liquids after midnight. Jack wasn’t allowed anything to eat or drink after midnight the day prior to the procedure. We let him drink a lot of water before bed so that he wouldn’t feel too thirsty in the morning.

2. Eat breakfast. I tend to get up before Jack in the morning but I usually wait till he is up to eat, which was a bad idea. Once he was up I felt bad eating in front of him so none of us ate that morning.

3. Diaper it. Jack is mostly potty trained and only wears diapers at bedtime or nap. I decided to treat the procedure like nap time and put a diaper on him. When I told the nurse that he was wearing one she seemed relieved.

4. Stock up on soft stuff. I don’t know why I didn’t think about what he would eat after but make sure you have a variety of soft foods your kids like.

5. Treat it like it’s surgery. Every time I told people that Jack was having dental surgery done and then said that it was cavities people kind of rolled their eyes or glossed over it. But in reality it’s surgery. We were seen at a surgical suite. He had to wear a surgery outfit but was allowed to leave on his pants. He was then given Valium so that he would be calm for when they took him back to the operating room. Once in the operating room they put a mask on him to give him gas to go to sleep, then they put an IV in for the anesthesia go in. He was also given a suppository of Tylenol while he was under.

6. Plan on waiting. Our appointment was at 9:15 but Jack wasn’t taken into surgery until 11:00. The doctor apologized and explained that he was running behind. Make sure you bring along some entertainment for yourself and your child. The procedure took about an hour.

7. Don’t make promises. John and I felt bad that Jack was hungry before the procedure so we promised him whatever he wanted for lunch. Unfortunately when Jack woke up he was in no mood for lunch and couldn’t eat the crunchy chicken nuggets we had promised him.

8. After is awful. I thought the hardest part would be saying goodbye when they whisked him off to the OR. I was wrong, the hardest part was after when I entered the recovery area and could hear Jack screaming before I saw him. He was red, shaking, screaming, flailing and crying. He was hooked up to machines, had all kinds of cords and IVs coming off of him. He had an IV in his hand. It was gut wrenching, tear jerking, awful. I held him on my lap as he screamed and flailed, shouting for me but not understanding that I was there holding him. He would fall back to sleep for a moment only to wake up and begin flailing again.

9. In and Out. Once it’s over they are done with you. They removed the IV lines and monitors and then we were told to get him dressed and we were escorted out the door, with our still screaming slightly inebriated child.

10. Once we got home we decided to keep the rest of the day as low key as possible. Which meant lying in bed and watching TV. In our bed was the best place for Jack for the first 2 hours post-op because he would still have moments where he would scream and flail and I felt like he was safer on our bed than in his crib or on the couch.

11. Whatever works. The day of and for the next few days after let your kid eat whatever they are comfortable with if that means pancakes for breakfast one night and turkey cold cuts with no bread the next then go for it. It also means that your kid may not be up to there usual activity level for a few days and that is totally normal.

12. Even though surgery is in and out it may be a few days before your kid feels like there old self. Give them time, having cavities filled hurts and sometimes is more involved than you would have thought. One of Jack’s cavities ended up being pretty deep and they had to remove a nerve so I can only imagine how much that hurt.

Anytime your child goes through something even a minor procedure under anesthesia it is a big deal for a parent. I wished I had asked more questions about the procedure prior to it happening. While the dentist and nurses were great about answering any questions, I felt very mislead by the idea that it would be “all routine” and “something that is done everyday”.