Hey there -

Has anyone had to have their child (under 2) put under general anesthesia? If so, what was your experience like? My 17mo ds need to go under general to have two crowns put on his front teeth - nursing decay - and I'm very anxious about it. His ped. dentist does not want to try conscious sedation b/c he is too young to understand and would be traumatized and she may not even be able to complete the work. Any stories that you can share would be helpful.

Thanks

Amy

By Emdee on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 06:33 pm:

My dd had tubes put in her ears at 8 months old--I don't know if it was general, but I am assuming it was since she was out for the procedure. If it was, then she tolerated it very well and did great. We got to see her within 30 minutes of the procedure completion and she came out of it quite quickly; we just had to have her drink something and tolerate that before we took her home. Good luck with the crowns; I hope he is a trooper and does great for you!

By Missmudd on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 06:47 pm:

My ds fell and really did a number on his nose, they had to have a plastic surgeon stich it back together, he was under general when they did it. Then they had to put him under again to take the stiches out. He just turned 2. He came out of it fine on both times. Just a bit groggy but it really didnt last very long and he did just fine. They are sooo careful when they sedate little people and your dentist is a ped dentist so they do it all the time and have experience doing it.

I know it is worrysome, if I could have had my son's nose taken care of w/out sedation I would have but it was the best way to take care of something that needed to be done.

By Palmbchprincess on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 07:17 pm:

Both my children were put under this year, Shane was just barely 2, and Maddie was 2.5. I agree with your ped, both of the kids were under for minor things, (Shane's toe nail was being removed, Mads was getting a cast on her femur) but it is WAY more traumatic to be awake. One thing to be prepared for is disorientation when your DS comes to. Shane was very upset, and thrashing when he woke up... he had a much harder time than his sister. Within an hour, he had calmed and slept most of the day. Good luck... it will be over fairly quickly, and he will be no worse for the wear.

By Jelygu on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 10:24 pm:

My son was put under for a surgery a few months ago (he was 11 months). I was very nervous, but everything went well. He was a little sleepy and groggy for the rest of the day, but he did just fine. Good luck and I hope all goes well.

By My2cuties on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 11:39 pm:

Hailey was put under once to have tubes in her ears (around 14 months) and once to have her tear duct unclogged (around 1). She did good except it was hard waking up for her, she cried and no amount of cuddling could get her to be calm. once she came fully out of it though she was alot better, she went the rest of the day like nothing had even happened. I hope alll goes well for your DS. Also when she had her tear duct surgery they gave her a little bit of a liquid that made her kind of groggy so she wouldn't cry for me to go with her into surgery..which worked very good, it made her act a little drunk, she was smiling and laughing over nothing. Good Luck.

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 11:47 pm:

Sarah got ear tubes when she was one (now 15). Like it's mentioned above, it's a short procedure and now she's fine. The only reason they have to knock them out, is that a kid that young would never cooperate and hold still.

By Amyk on Thursday, February 10, 2005 - 06:58 am:

This feedback is a big help! Keep the stories coming!

Sincerely,

Amy

By Truestori on Thursday, February 10, 2005 - 11:28 pm:

Amy,

My son was put under for decay on his teeth and he was fine. He actually had 10 cavities filled, all due to breastmilk. I would definitly get a second opinion if possible. We have moved since then and I have a dentist now that doesn't even believe in giving children nitrous oxide.My son has had plenty of work,including a crown. Almost all dentist would have either knocked him out or given nitrous and this guy is totally against it. I was nervous at our first appointment with him because I wondered how he would be able to give my son shots without anything....He is awesome, and if you ask my son he will swear he has never gotten a shot from his dentist. Goodluck, sorry I started to ramble..LOL

By Luvn29 on Friday, February 11, 2005 - 09:21 am:

Children have to sit absolutely still for a crown. They cannot move. My son had to have tons of work done, 2 front teeth pulled, due to a fall which killed the nerves, and several caps put on.

He was four years old, but still had to go under general.

Yep, they could have attempted to do this while he was awake, but it wasn't worth the trauma my little guy would have to go through, even at four.

Our insurance would not pay for him to have it done, and we were out several thousand dollars to go this route, but it was worth it knowing he was never frightened or in pain.

They let him drink a little liquid valium which made him kind of loopy before we wheeled him into the room, so he wasn't frightened then, and then they put him completely to sleep with gas on his nose, so he never ever felt ay needles. They didn't put his I.V. in until after he was already asleep. And they let me stay with him until he was asleep, so no alarm there with him.

They were absolutely fantastic. Ped. dentists do this all the time and will do anything they can to give you and your little one peace and comfort.

Dentists may be able to do it all without even the nitrous, but I'm not about to try it.

I don't even like to have work done without it, so I'm definitely not putting my children through the trauma if I don't have to.

Oh yeah, back to the entire point. My son did very well, only he had a nausea and vomiting for a few hours afterwards. But, with the work done, some blood ended up in the stomach, and they expected this. They gave him something to help it.

I still wake up sick every time I am put under, and I have done it many, many times. I'm sure your little one will do great! They use very little anesthesia for babies, and especially for what your ds is having done. It will take a very short time for them to set the crowns with him asleep.

By Dawnk777 on Friday, February 11, 2005 - 11:20 pm:

I have had three crowns done as an adult, including one in just the last 2 weeks. For me, there is so much noise and water and high-pitched working on my teeth that maybe some of that would be kind of scary for a 17-month old. I didn't like it, even at the age of 44. The dentist is not really my most favorite place to go. She is nice, though, and I REALLY like that she puts a topical anesthetic on my gums, before she injects me with the novocaine! It is soooo nice, not to feel the whole sensation of being poked! I can still feel the pressure, but not the needle itself.

By Emily7 on Saturday, February 12, 2005 - 12:21 am:

My son has been under general 6 times by the time he was 15 months old. Each time he was fine, just a little grumpy & groggy.

By Karen~moderator on Saturday, February 12, 2005 - 08:47 am:

Jeff had had 3 surgeries under general by the time he was 2. Aside from being very groggy and a little grumpy, he was fine. I'm sure your DS will be fine too.