Patient Comfort & Sedation

Because children are unique, we offer multiple sedation options to help make our patient's dental experiences more pleasant and successful. At your child's initial examination appointment, Dr. Padilla or Dr. Lepetich may recommend any of the following options to help relax your child in order to perform the dental procedures that have been recommended.

Nitrous Oxide & Oxygen

Some children are given nitrous oxide to relax them for their dental treatment. Nitrous oxide is a combination of gas plus oxygen that is breathed in through a nose piece, allowing patients to relax without putting them to sleep. Nitrous Oxide helps patients with mild anxiety, sensitive gag reflexes and helps in decreasing the saliva flow, making dental treatment easier to complete. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recognizes this as a very safe, effective technique to use for treating children's dental needs.

Oral Sedation

As pediatric dental specialists, we have additional training and expertise in the use of oral medications for the purpose of sedating children for dental treatment. Apprehension and anxiety are common responses for some children when it comes to dental procedures. An oral sedative medication may be recommended for your child to help provide a more pleasant experience and gain the level of cooperation necessary to administer dental treatment.

IV Sedation

In addition to oral sedation, Children's Dental Village also offers IV sedation by Dr. Christensen, a licensed dental anesthesiologist. Dr. Padilla and Dr. Lepetich recommend IV sedation in cases where dental treatment is extensive, oral sedation medications have not been effective, and/or your child is too young to tolerate treatment in any other way. Once we determine together that IV sedation is the appropriate management for your child we will take care of making arrangements for you to receive this service in our office.