Hi GT Moms,
It's been more than a year since my last post. I purposely did not visit the thread because of the bad and hurtful experience I had with another member.
Anyway, I am very happy to tell all of you that my son's year-old strip crowns are doing well.
I was able to find a pedia dentist who understood my concerns about "conscious sedation", and he agreed to do his treatment with oral sedation, as long as I do the "monitoring" myself.
I am a medical doctor, my mom is a medical doctor too. My lolo, and my uncles are doctors too. We studied all other alternatives that time, we consulted several anesthesiologist friends, and my mom and I both agreed not to have conscious sedation for a baby less than 24 months old.
My son was only 21 months old when I noticed ridges on his 4 front teeth. He was 24 months when the pedia dentist repaired his two front teeth. And he was 25 months when his 2 side teeth were repaired.
I am not trying to scare anybody about the after-effects of conscious sedation. It's just that from my research, conscious sedation is also a form of General Anesthesia. And the risks for babies less than 24 months old outweigh the benefits (in my case, and in my opinion).
Anyway, my baby did not have any trauma at all (as what most dentists fear would happen if I opt to have oral sedation). His "happy/non-traumatic" dental experience happened inspite of our "multiple" visits, and despite no sedation done on our 2nd procedure! I am really thankful that God led me to this wonderful pedia dentist.
I guess our 2-3 months "preparation" worked too. I've been reading him books about dentist visits (Dora, Berenstein Bears, Curious George,etc), and also watching cartoons with the same topics for several weeks prior to the procedure.
On the first procedure (2 front teeth), I gave him oral sedative and we monitored his O2 sat and pulse rate with a pulse oximeter. He only cried a bit when the procedure was almost over (around 30-40 minutes, if I remember it correctly).
The assistant "intern" was just too slow in tying the strings for the rubber dam. It wasted a lot of "sedated" time, sayang! The pedia dentist decided not to use one anymore.
After a month, we did the 2nd procedure (2 side teeth), and this time, we did not even need a sedative anymore. My baby follows command really well. And this is one of the many reasons why I was confident to ask all the dentists we consulted if we can try oral sedation lang.
So my advice, follow your instincts! You know your baby the best. All of us only wants the best for our babies. Kaya nga tayo nandito sa GT to seek for answers, advice, recommendations, and learn more from other moms, right? Isn't that enough proof that we want only the best for our kids?
Don't give up in looking for a dentist whom you can trust 100%. The one who will truly listen to you, and not throw their weight around because they are "experts", and one that would not call you a "horrible" mother for wanting something different for your baby.
I consulted several dentists -- I think mga 5 pedia dentists ang pinuntahan ko, before I found THE ONE. And heavent-sent talaga sya!
Pangungunahan ko na ang iba sa tabi-tabi, I am not saying one should avoid conscious sedation at all cost. Because every case is different -- the age, the severity of the problem, the level of child'd cooperation, his/her temperament, attention span, etc.
In the end, it will still be a case to case basis. In my case, I followed what I think is the best for my baby, and I have no regrets.
Again, you know your baby the best, and you know what's best for him/her (sometimes, much more than what the "experts" tell you).
