Pain / Anxiety Management

Management of patient discomfort and anxiety is a primary consideration at Dr. Gibson’s practice — but when it’s necessary we administer and monitor it extremely carefully given the age of our patients. Pain management comes primarily in two kinds:

General anesthesia is administered to patients by our fully qualified staff. Children whose treatment needs are substantial, or who are extremely anxious about undergoing their procedure, can benefit from treatment performed while they’re under the influence of general anesthetic. In such cases, Dr. Gibson will provide all necessary treatment in a single visit so you need not bring your child in for multiple appointments.

Should your child need restorative treatment such as fillings, crowns or extraction, Dr. Gibson recommends nitrous oxide, commonly known as “laughing gas.” The most frequently used mild sedative in pediatric dentistry, nitrous oxide is both safe and effective. Both of its constituent elements — nitrogen and oxygen — are present in the air we breathe; we deliver it to the patient in a concentrated dose for the desired effects: a relaxed, open airway, alleviation of stress, improved cooperation and reduced anxiety.

Relaxed children make for great patients, as we can perform their treatment much more quickly and effectively, shortening both their time in the dental chair and your time in our office. 

Post-procedure, reversing any numbness a child has from local anesthetic is important. While numb, children are prone to biting, sucking, scratching and pinching their lips and cheeks, so shortening the time until they have normal sensation around their mouth is ideal. Some children, too, simply don’t like the feeling of being numb, likening it (ironically) to pain. To reverse numbness, we use a product called Oraverse, which will usually make normal feeling return within an hour, sometimes as quickly as 15 minutes. Without it, numbness from local anesthetic typically lasts between two and five hours.