Oral Sedation

One of the sedation options provided at Anderson Pediatric Dental & Orthodontics, Inc. is oral sedation. With oral sedation, your child only needs to take an oral sedative to help him or her relax during their visit with our pediatric dentist. To make your child’s appointment with Dr. John Anderson and to learn more about oral sedation in Roy, Utah, please contact our office at 801-774-5437.

Some children are unable to receive dental treatment due to their young age, fear, an inability to cooperate with the dentist, or because they are receiving a more involved treatment. Our practice features oral sedation to help your child relax and receive his or her treatments in comfort, and allows our dentist to provide care that is effective and meets your child’s needs.

When your child receives oral sedation, we provide a sedative that he or she can drink after arriving in our office for your treatment appointment. This sedative is a mix of Versed (midazolam) and Vistril (hydroxyzine), and once in the treatment room, they also receive nitrous oxide (laughing gas). This amount given is based on the weight of each child. This sedation is not a general anesthetic. In some cases, your child may fall asleep, but can be easily awakened if necessary. Your child may remember little, if any, of his or her treatment later.

IMPORTANT: Your child should not eat or drink anything for four hours before their appointment. This medication can sometimes cause nausea, and this is best managed by an empty stomach.

Following oral sedation, your child will be drowsy. The medications we use remain in their system for several hours. Try to keep him or her quiet and at rest. If your child refuses to rest, you can expect him or her to be upset and disoriented. After 2 hours, your child may eat or drink. Be sure that your child drinks plenty of fluids after the initial 2-hour period, and throughout the rest of the day. Provide a soft diet for the first day after the treatment.

If your child cries or is resistant to his or her treatment, do not worry. This is normal, and is why we are providing oral sedation for your child. We have several methods to keep your child comfortable during sedation.

If your child requires full sedation, we provide two options:

  • We visit Mt. Ogden Surgical Center once a month to perform treatments that need full sedation.
  • We can bring a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist to our office for a full sedation treatment.

Please contact our office if you have any questions or concerns about oral sedation.

Oral Sedation Consent Form