Inhalation Sedation has been around for over 150 years in dentistry so it’s well understood, well researched and very safe.
It can be called a number of different things like happy gas, twilight gas, laughing gas. These are all names to describe the same thing: a combination of nitrous oxide and oxygen.
How does inhalation sedation work?
It’s typically delivered through a small mask that sits over the nose which often is a little less daunting for little ones who might be worried and anxious about dental visits.
The sedation dentist who provides the treatment will have a machine that can blend a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen typically in a 50-50 mixture (sometimes less) and the child is instructed to breathe through the nose in and out for a period of time until the nitrous oxide takes effect.
How Children Feel with Sedation
Children can report feeling floaty as though they’re on a cloud, as though they’re sitting on cotton wool even! Their hands and toes might feel tingly. They actually might giggle as well, hence the common name laughing gas.
In fact, as adults we might have experienced laughing gas before as children ourselves.
One of the key things about inhalation sedation is that its a much lighter form of sedation so the environment itself is really important to get right, making sure the dentist who’s providing it is calming, making sure the clinic is comfortable, making sure the child’s set up for success.
What are some of the key benefits of inhalation sedation?
The number one benefit is that it allows for a reduction of anxiety and help with children who might have dental phobia without needing to use a needle. This can be good for children with needle phobia because it can be distracting ahead of injections like local anaesthetic that are used with extractions or sometimes with adult teeth fillings.
It’s very safe as well so that’s the other big plus point about nitrous oxide. It has been used for so long it’s effect is so well understood.
Aside from some situations where respiratory difficulties might not mean children are good candidates for nitrous oxide, one of the major complications that can happen is nausea and dizziness so they’re very rare, perhaps happening in one in twenty to one in a hundred cases.
The other big benefit is that it’s got quite a quick recovery so children can walk out of the clinical room right away.
And from a dental experience standpoint it allows children to build confidence back up with dentists.
Is it right for my child?
Nitrous oxide can be very effective even for children with sensory processing difficulties because it just helps take the edge off. It helps build a less anxious and more trusting environment.
Critical to success is the ability for the dentist to build a calm, comfortable, and trusting environment. But inhalation sedation is not always successful and it might be that the level of dental phobia is so profound that intravenous sedation for children might be required.
This comes at increased cost because of the need for specialist medical support.
