Specialty Pediatric Dental Services in La Crosse, WI
Comfort and safety are our #1 priority
We want your children to be comfortable, relaxed, and happy while they lay back and receive dental care.
We want all of our patients to have a great dental experience and be excited to come back. Our goal is for children to build positive memories of the dentist from an early age to help them establish healthy patterns for the rest of their lives. The majority of children do great for treatment with just a movie playing overhead and maybe some nitrous oxide (a.k.a. laughing gas). Other children will benefit from an oral sedation medication, and some will do better with deep IV sedation or general anesthesia. We will evaluate your child and help you decide what you think is the best fit. We will discuss the benefits and drawbacks to each option and answer your questions along the way. We believe the patient's comfort is as important as the parent's comfort.
NITROUS OXIDE
Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas is a safe, odorless gas that is inhaled through a flavored mask to help kids feel light and happy. It is excellent at reducing any anxiety. The effects wear off almost immediately afterwards and are gone completely within several minutes.
ORAL SEDATION
While most children will be fine with just laughing gas, others will benefit from oral sedation to keep them comfortable, calm, and relaxed. The kids drink a medicine that helps to create a reduced state of awareness during treatment and will be closely supervised by their parent for the remainder of the day. Providing oral sedation for kids, safely and effectively, is one of the key benefits of a pediatric dentist who has received this specialized, additional training.
IV SEDATION OR GENERAL ANESTHESIA
Deep IV Sedation or General Anesthesia is a great option for children who are too anxious or unable to receive treatment while they are awake. We have two options in this category; we have an excellent pediatric anesthesiologist who comes to our office to put the kids to sleep with IV medication, similar to how it would be if you had your wisdom teeth taken out, and we can also treat your child at Gunderson La Crosse in their operating room where they will be put to sleep as if they were getting their tonsils removed or ear tubes placed. Since they were asleep for treatment, they will not remember the experience.