Pediatric Anesthesia
If your child has trouble visiting the dentist because of severe anxiety or special needs, or if they require major dental work, dental anesthesia may be the right choice.
If your child has trouble visiting the dentist because of severe anxiety or Special Needs, or if they require major surgery or procedure, it can sometimes be necessary for that child to be administered sedation or anesthesia. Dentist anesthesiologists have the necessary experience and qualifications to treat and assist children safely throughout the process.
Like regular anesthesiologists, dentist anesthesiologists are trained to work with children and infants. They can also deliver the proper care to children in the dentist’s chair or operating room.
Our adult daughter has cerebral palsy and requires being fully sedated when having anything done. The DAC was such a positive experience. Dr Hoffmann and his staff were kind and did great explaining things. As a mom, I had a lot of questions about how certain things would be done as usually she’s in her chair when getting examined at her local dentist and they had everything under control including transferring from her chair to the dentist chair and keeping her secured in the dentist chair as well as keeping her neck and legs comfortable. Many thanks to them!
Response from the owner:Thank you so much for your kind words. We’re grateful for your trust and happy to hear that you had such a positive experience with our team. Our goal is always to provide compassionate, attentive care in a safe and comfortable environment. We truly appreciate you taking the time to share your experience.
TWENTY YEARS! That is how long our special needs son has been seeing Dr Hoffman and his dedicated team! Our son suffers from an intellectual disability, is non-verbal, and is unable to cooperate for dental cleaning, x-rays, or other routine dental work. He requires general anesthesia. It is such a blessing to avoid a hospital setting just for dental work.
The team is always well staffed, friendly, personable and very professional. Every single year we have been supported by a deeply caring team who are dedicated to patients with a very wide range of disabilities and needs. They have shared useful dental advice and tools (3 sided toothbrushes, blocks to hold open their mouth for daily at-home care, etc.) which improved our son’s daily dental care. We always receive a call back the day after to check his recovery-even on weekends!
Highly recommended and so appreciative to have this team supporting our ever long road of raising a special needs son.
Response from the owner:Wow — thank you for sharing such a heartfelt review! We are so grateful for your trust and for allowing our team to be part of your family’s journey over the years. It means so much to us to know that our care and support have made a difference. We truly appreciate your kind words and recommendation!
We've been coming to Dr.Hoffman for twenty years. There's a reason we keep coming back! He's great. His staff is great. He's double boarded as an MD (Anesthesia) and DDS!!! Our son with special needs needs sedation for even a cleaning. You get what you pay for. He's expensive and... we know he's getting the best care!
Response from the owner:Thank you for trusting our team over the years and for your kind words about Dr. Hoffmann and our staff. We truly value your confidence in the care we provide!
Omg!! This place is Amazing! The people who work here are so very nice and understanding. I love this team
Response from the owner:Thank you so much for your kind words! We truly appreciate your support and are grateful to have such wonderful patients.
Searching for a new dental clinic is challenging for someone who has
dental anxiety, fear, and traumatic experiences in a dental chair. The staff and doctors at the Dental Anesthesia Center were immediately very welcoming. Dr. Thoms put together a very detailed plan to repair and replace the previous work that I had in the past that was now causing problems. Putting my faith in him was the best thing that I could have done for my situation. I am more than completely satisfied with all of the extensive dental work that I’ve had with Dr.Thoms. I had my fourth sleep dentistry experience yesterday and I’m very happy with my results. I highly recommend this practice and truly want to give them more than five stars! Thank you for giving me back my health and confidence.
Response from the owner:We know it isn’t always easy to find a dental office where you feel at ease, so your words mean the world to us. We’re so glad you feel comfortable with our team and truly appreciate your trust and recommendation!
Anesthesia & Children
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry updated the current guidelines for dentists and oral surgeons in 2019. These guidelines help dentists and oral surgeons with a procedural map to follow when providing children with general anesthesia or deep sedation.
For starters, there must always be two people in the room, each trained to provide full life support in an emergency. One of the people in the room will be the dentist or oral surgeon who will perform the actual procedure.
The other person in the room is known as an independent observer.
Understanding The Different Levels of Sedation
It is essential to know that there are different levels of sedation. The dentist will ultimately decide the type of sedation necessary for the patient or procedure, though understanding each level will help you, as a parent, feel more in control.
- Mild Sedation – Mild sedation is when the child remains conscious throughout the procedure. It is the lightest level of sedation that we offer and typically involves a mild sedative such as Nitrous Oxide, otherwise known as laughing gas or a Valium-like medication. Nitrous Oxide is the most popular choice, though some children don’t like the feeling. Dentists don’t need to go through additional training to administer mild sedation.
- Moderate Sedation – Moderate sedation, or sedation dentistry, makes the child sleepier during the procedure, though they are not entirely asleep. We highly recommend this for older children, who are less fearful.
- Deep Sedation – Deep sedation, otherwise known as sleep dentistry, is a method of sedation in which the child is completely asleep throughout the procedure. There will be no memory of the procedure. During your child’s procedure, an independent observer will always be in the room to monitor the child’s heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, etc. This method is entirely pain-free and excellent for more extended operations or procedures.
Making Your First Appointment
Whether your child struggles with severe anxiety or special needs, or if they need a serious dental operation, including surgery, St. Louis pediatric anesthesia can help. At The Dental Anesthesia Center in St. Louis, we have been practicing sleep and sedation dentistry for the past 30 years. We know how important the safety and comfort of your child are during their procedure, and we aim to provide nothing less than that!
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The first two board-certified Dentist Anesthesiologists in the state of Missouri.
