"Laughing gas sounds great for simpler cases, but for anything complicated or anxiety-inducing, IV might be worth considering."
Yeah, that's kinda what I'm thinking too. My daughter has a tooth that's impacted, and honestly, just hearing the word "impacted" makes me nervous... IV sedation sounds reassuring, but does anyone know how kids typically handle it?
Yeah, that's kinda what I'm thinking too.
When my son had his impacted tooth out, we went with IV sedation. Honestly, kids usually handle it pretty well...he was groggy afterward but bounced back by the next morning. Just follow the dentist's aftercare guidelines closely and she'll likely do fine.
We did laughing gas for my daughter's extraction, and honestly...she was a total champ. IV sedation definitely knocks them out deeper, but the gas is pretty chill too—just takes the edge off without the heavier grogginess afterward. Like you said:
"Just follow the dentist's aftercare guidelines closely and she'll likely do fine."
Exactly this. Keep some ice cream handy, cue up Netflix, and it'll be over before you know it. Good luck!
Did anyone notice a big price difference between IV sedation and laughing gas? We're looking at an extraction soon, and I'm leaning toward the gas mostly because of budget. From what you're saying, it sounds like the gas does the trick without knocking them out completely...which honestly might be better anyway. Plus, less grogginess afterward means fewer hours spent binge-watching cartoons and more time for me to reclaim Netflix, right?
I went with laughing gas last year for exactly the same reason—budget. Honestly, I was pretty anxious about the whole thing (like, palms sweating anxious), but the gas took the edge off nicely without totally knocking me out. I was still aware of what was going on, but it felt distant, like it wasn't really happening to me. Weird, but kinda reassuring at the same time.
Afterward, I wasn't nearly as groggy as I expected. I mean, I wasn't exactly ready to go jogging or anything, but I definitely didn't spend hours zoned out in front of cartoons either. Actually managed to reclaim my Netflix queue pretty quickly, lol. If you're cautious like me, the gas might be the sweet spot between comfort and cost. IV sedation always seemed a bit intense to me anyway...but hey, everyone's different.
