Dentist skilled at working without nitrous/sedation for kids?
Hi, My kid needs some dental work done and the pediatric dentist we've been going to seems to be mostly using nitrous oxide to gain compliance from kiddos. Has anyone had a great experience with a dentist who is really good at getting the novocain shot in, for example, without the child noticing? Or is just generally willing to work with families who want to avoid the drugs?
Thanks!
Oct 17, 2019
Parent Replies
I recently had to bring my daughter for a filling and was amazed at just how big that shot is, kind of scary looking! I truly don’t know how anyone could get that past a captive kid. We also went with the nitrous because I wanted her to have a positive experience and not be terrified if she had to have it done again, it may have helped to take the edge off just a little. Could you bring a special toy/gift/show your child gets to have once the shot goes in? Wishing you all the best!
My kids see Denise Bass Allen in Uptown Oakland, and she was very open to letting us decide whether or not to use nitrous. (That said, we did opt not to do it for one filling, and although the shot went seamlessly with no tears, the high-pitched noise of the drill turned out to be really unsettling for that particular child, who was preschool-aged at the time--had not anticipated that. In retrospect we probably should have done the nitrous.) At one visit we also watched an upper elementary-aged child come in and have a conversation with one of the dentists about whether or not she wanted to do the nitrous and what the pros and cons might be before she decided, which I appreciated. So I'd say they're certainly open to families choosing not to go the nitrous route, although I have found that they assume you will choose to do it when preparing estimates. That's probably par for the course, though.
We LOVE Aloha Kids Pediatrics. We see Dr. Katsura. We switched from a previous dentist who wanted to use nitrous, sedate and strap my child to a board to keep him restrained. Turns out he didn't need all the fillings, they are gentle and kind, informative to the kids about the process and not one tear was shed without any extra drugs. I can't tell you enough the great experience it has been. My kids have now been patients there for years.
Dr. Meeta Doshi is an expert at doing pediatric dentistry using distraction and old-fashioned people skills. My daughter unfortunately needed multiple fillings starting when she was almost 3. She kept my daughter still by telling her a story while she filled the cavity, then by having the hygienist blow up exam gloves with the air hose and draw silly faces on them. And shots were a non-issue: Dr. Doshi numbs the gum first so the child doesn't feel the shot, and uses her hand to hide the needle. My daughter had a number of fillings done over the next few years (sigh) and not one of those experiences was traumatic. When she was 8 or 9 she was talking a to a classmate and said "my dentist doesn't give shots" -- the whole time she hadn't noticed. My daughter is now 21 so my info may be out of date, but it's worth a call.