Dentist uses Nitrous Oxide?

Some folks I know had anesthetic and could NEVER think clearly, either
before or after!


Someone I know said that when she had a general
anesthetic, she couldn't think clearly for 6 months
afterwards. (That's the kind where you go
unconscious.) I believe there's a significant
risk of death with the kind of anesthetic where
you go unconscious. One in a thousand or something?

--
Joel M. Eichen, .
Philadelphia PA

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Its a gas!

I thought you meant the gaff on Letterman last night!


On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 19:01:25 GMT, wc wrote:

Mary Elliott wrote:

It's a gas. It has no long lasting consequences.

It does if not given with enough oxygen . . . another "anesthetist"
without a clue, aren't you Mary.

I believe there's a significant
risk of death with the kind of anesthetic where
you go unconscious. One in a thousand or something?


Try more like 1 in 50,000. ( Mary's reply . . . incorect )

Oh, it's much higher than that . . . I've been an anesthetist for
forty years, and never killed anybody.


Besides the doctor or dentist working on you,
there should be an anesthetist constantly monitoring
you until you regain consciousness.

You worry too damned much! ( Mary's reply . . . typical )

The writer above is 100 % correct. Dentisty being performed is a one
man or woman job. So is anesthesia. Trouble is, too many dentists do
both, and they have left a long trail of dead patients behind them. The
patient should be monitored by a qualified and licensed anesthetist, not
the office assistant.

Will, crna


--
Joel M. Eichen, .
Philadelphia PA

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N2O and GA (general anesthetic) are quite different. If you want me to
elaborate in the next 1,000,000 posts, I will!


Joel

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 23:57:12 +0200, Mxsmanic
wrote:

Mary Elliott writes:

Besides the doctor or dentist working on you,
there should be an anesthetist constantly monitoring
you until you regain consciousness.

You worry too damned much!

Not at all. Any type of general anesthesia requires at least a heart
and blood-pressure monitor, and constant surveillance, plus equipment
for emergency resuscitation if required. Careless use of central
anesthetics like nitrous oxide is quite hazardous.

--
Joel M. Eichen, .
Philadelphia PA

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There is no careless use of N2O.

It is closely controlled and monitored (in Pennsylvania) at least!



Joel

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 23:57:12 +0200, Mxsmanic
wrote:

Careless use of central
anesthetics like nitrous oxide is quite hazardous.

--
Joel M. Eichen, .
Philadelphia PA

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SPECIALIST TIME.

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 18:22:00 GMT, Wendy Marsden
wrote:

Well, here's my follow-up. My husband brought him back to the dentist
today. I sent my husband because it occurred to me that the [male]
dentist might be one of those people who can't treat women like adults. I
also figured that my husband would have a different demeanor than me and
might be more effective in getting our kid to cooperate.

He didn't even last as long as last time. Their appointment was for
8:30 am and I got a call at 8:38 saying the dentist won't do it.

My husband later said that he thought the dentist was a bit wussy in not
insisting on getting in the mouth when our son got fussy. Apparently he
has no skills in this area because he uses nitrous oxide to knock them
flat during all visits. He did nothing to help our son be less fearful.

DS started to get fearful when the chair was tipped back and then got more
fearful when they put the little pig-snout mask on him and then totally
freaked out after smelling the odd smell. (I had previously asked the
dentist if he could do unscented, apparently he couldn't.)

I conclude now that the freaking out was to the sensation of the mask
experience (and maybe flashbacks to his traumatic hospitalization a year
ago) and not a reaction to the drug itself.

The dentist's two recommendations were to "wait until he's older" (our son
is 51 months) or to schedule hospital dentistry to do all of them at once
under general. Our next course is the obvious thing that the dentist
DIDN'T mention, to try a different dentist. We know we might have to come
back to this one for the hospital dentistry. (He's the only one who does
it that is available to us.)

What's not clear to me is what happens if we don't get these cavities
filled for months or years. One of the five cavities was abscessed in May
and a second one was fairly deep and we discussed whether to restore it or
pull it when we were pulling the abscessed one (which was pulled
promptly.) Nothing has been done with it in three months at this point
and my kid cries everytime we floss there. All of the cavities are
between back teeth, though his teeth are fairly widely spaced. (His front
teeth are all fine.)

We have an introductory meeting set up for Friday with a new dentist.
We've talked this guy up to our kid, explaining that he is our response to
the kid's fear of the other situation.

I'm planning on talking to this dentist about prescribing a sedative to
use before restoration work and NOT using nitrous oxide.

Wendy


In misc.kids Karen DeMent
wrote: Wendy Marsden wrote:

My four year old finally, FINALLY got his dentist visit today, four months
after an x-ray showed a startling five cavities. Our dentist promptly
referred us to a pediatric dentist, saying she wasn't set up to do that
much work on a small kid. The pediatric dentist fit us in for an initial
exam and a teeth cleaning, but couldn't get us an appointment to treat him
until today.

Things started out fine, everyone was cheerful and no one was scared or
anxious. He got in the chair and was laughing and fine. But five minutes
into the nitrous oxide he suddenly started whimpering and curling up and
got clingy and weepy and scared. I wasn't able to figure out what was
causing the anxiety - I really think it was a reaction to the nitrous
oxide. The dentist just thought I had a wimpy boy that I babied - which
wouldn't be a crime if I did, but that doesn't happen to be the case.

The damn dentist threw us out. So much for pediatric dentists knowing
how to work with kids! He offered no solution beyond we'll try again on
Monday. Meanwhile, this dentist is a 45 minute drive from my home, he
isn't a preferred provider in my insurance plan and he thinks I've caused
my son's mouth problems through neglect (which just isn't true.)

The pediatric dentist was talking about scheduling an OR for sometime in
the winter (months and months from now) to do all four fillings at
once. I'm disinclined to put my kid through general anasthesia
again. (Long story, but probably related to why he has such weirdly
horrible teeth: he had a traumatic illness and hospitalization 15 months
ago.)

I'm thinking of finding a dentist that does NOT use nitrous oxide but who
will prescribe a valium before the visit. What do you think?

-- Wendy

Sorry but I think your child may be spoiled and knows how
to get your attention and avoid situations he doesn't
enjoy. While he may have been anxious, you could have
helped more than you did. Nitrous didn't have anything
to do with this incident.

-Karen

--
Joel M. Eichen, .
Philadelphia PA

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On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 18:57:50 GMT, "Dr Steve" wrote:

Sounds like the child has learned how to avoid the situation altogether.
Most kids are smart enough to do that if given the chance.

REPLY:

Exactly. Most kids are twice as smart as two parents put together!


(I used to be one ,,,,, a kid!)_


It is hard to
reason past that behavior for very young children. A guess from a long
distance away is to go to the hospital and get the GA. The child should NOT
remember any of it.

A general suggestion to all parents is to never try to prepare a child for a
dental visit. We have the best of intentions, but invariably end up scaring
the child more by placing new ideas in their heads. Answer all questions as
briefly, but honestly as possible. Just do not offer ANY information. All
too often, parents will place too much importance on a single event (like
visiting the dentist), because it is important to *us*, but we should do the
opposite. I tell parents to treat the visit with the same level of
importance (when in front of the kid), as a trip to the supermarket. If we
tried to explain everything the child would see or experience at the
supermarket prior to their first trip there (at age 3-4), the kid would be
scared to death. Think about a reaction to things the child has not seen
yet by age 3-4, such as automatic doors, HUGE (to the child) metal carts
that they are forced to ride in, but wobble all over the place, all the
strangers everywhere, mountains of boxes, a machine which slices meat,
bright lights, bells going off, and the cash register with its mysterious
moving belt and chirping register.

Most children do not fear the grocery store because, (1) they have been
there since they were weeks old, and (2) no one has given them any reason to
suspect it might be scary. The dental visit should be the same (for the
kid).

Saying things such as "Don't worry it won't hurt", or "don't be scared", or
"don't be frightened of the noises", only plants the thought of fear in
their heads.

I know this advice may be too late for this child. It may not have mattered
in the first place. The important thing is to get the dental problems
sorted out quickly, maintain the child's dental health so that it is not an
issue again, and avoid making the child into a "dentophobic".

The parent will suffer much more from the visit to the hospital for GA than
the child will. Only the parent will remember it a year later. The
hospital will have an entire team ready to administer the anesthetic and get
the treatment done. Don't let the kid live with pain or fear.

It is possible a different dentist may have better luck, but don't count on
it given the history. If you try another dentist, make sure that dentist
has the chance to gain the child's trust prior to trying to fix any teeth.
That often means you get to pay to have the child's teeth cleaned again.
Often it means you get to pay for a whole series of minor little
appointments designed solely to gain the child's trust.

--
Joel M. Eichen, .
Philadelphia PA

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Are you kidding me? At my grocery the produce guy gives shots to all
of the customers ......

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 18:57:50 GMT, "Dr Steve" wrote:

Most children do not fear the grocery store because, (1) they have been
there since they were weeks old, and (2) no one has given them any reason to
suspect it might be scary.

--
Joel M. Eichen, .
Philadelphia PA

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I just tuned in ... who is Hunter?


Joel

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 14:27:48 -0500, "Nikki"
wrote:

Dr Steve wrote:

It is possible a different dentist may have better luck, but don't
count on it given the history. If you try another dentist, make sure
that dentist has the chance to gain the child's trust prior to trying
to fix any teeth. That often means you get to pay to have the child's
teeth cleaned again. Often it means you get to pay for a whole series
of minor little appointments designed solely to gain the child's
trust.

I've not responded before since Hunter has not needed dental work and was
fine with exams and cleaning. One thing I did do was take him when I got my
teeth cleaned before we went. Like you suggested that visit (as well as his
the following week) was just another errand on our agenda, no special
comments were made. We had a family dentist so it was the same guy.

Clearly the OP's child is very anxious (which I image some kids just are, I
don't think my second son is going to respond quite as well as my first just
knowing his personality) but if anyone else in her family needs dental work
(and is not anxious about it) it might benifit him to go along.

I wish her little guy good luck. Cleanings and exams area walk in the part
compared to actual work I imagine.

--
Joel M. Eichen, .
Philadelphia PA

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Okay .. why didn't you tell me its Luke's brother?


On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 14:27:48 -0500, "Nikki"
wrote:

Nikki
Mama to Hunter (4) and Luke (2)

--
Joel M. Eichen, .
Philadelphia PA

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My ex-wife does too!

Not all of them ... just me!


On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 20:12:21 GMT, dragonlady wrote:

I hate dentists.

--
Joel M. Eichen, .
Philadelphia PA

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