Why is it Safer for a Child to Undergo Dental Treatment in an Ambulatory Surgical Center Under General Anesthesia Versus in Office Treatment Under IV Sedation?

Dental treatment of children is not an easy task! They are full of energy and can barely sit straight in the dental chair for more than a few minutes. Most dental practices use intravenous or inhalation sedation to calm down extremely anxious pediatric patients for performing dental procedures. IV sedation is generally associated with greater morbidity and overnight hospital stay, which involves missing school for a day or two, and disturbing the work schedule of parents as well.

Keeping this view, ambulatory surgical centers have been developed by dental practices, where time-consuming and extensive dental procedures are performed without the need for overnight hospitalization. Before we dive into the benefits of ambulatory surgical centers over IV sedation in a dental office, let us understand what ambulatory surgical centers are.

What are Ambulatory Surgical Centers?

Ambulatory surgical centers are independent healthcare facilities, which have been specifically designed for providing scheduled ambulatory surgery where there is no need for hospital stay overnight.

Dental Ambulatory surgical centers are also known as freestanding outpatient surgery centers, which provide a safe and time-efficient means for the treatment of dental problems in children.

Why Ambulatory Surgical Centers are Beneficial?

Most of you would be thinking about whether they should get dental treatment of their children done at an ambulatory surgical center. For them, here are a few benefits that these freestanding surgical centers offer over other pediatric dental treatment options.

Less Hostile Environment for the Child

Children often have a negative perspective of a dental practice! Therefore, despite a dentist's plans to treat the child under IV sedation, frightened and anxious children will remain restless in the dental chair and won’t allow the dentist to provide the required treatment.

On the other hand, ambulatory surgical centers provide a calm and soothing environment where the child is treated under general anesthesia.

• Safety – ambulatory surgical centers employ full-time anesthetists to monitor the vital signs and status of the children while they are being treated under general anesthesia. This means that the ambulatory surgical centers are better equipped in performing real-time monitoring of their patients and to provide medical treatment, in case a medical or dental emergency arises. Also, ambulatory surgical centers are certified by federal and state regulatory authorities to ensure patient safety and high-quality dental care.

• Convenience – when children are treated under IV sedation, they tend to remain sleepy for a few hours after they have been discharged from the dentist’s office. This is not the case when treatment is done in ambulatory dental centers. The patient will be slightly groggy and may even want to just sleep. Please remember a guardian must remain with the patient for the remainder of the day.

• Efficient – treating children at a dental office becomes very difficult, even impossible when many procedures have to be performed in a single sitting. In these cases, ambulatory surgical centers prove to be extremely useful. Why? Because dentists can plan multiple procedures to be performed on the same day when the child is under the effect of general anesthesia.

• Best for Children with Disabilities – ambulatory surgical centers are an ideal option for the treatment of children who have physical or mental disabilities, especially those who have neuromuscular problems and are unable to sit still. In these children, sudden uncontrolled movements prevent the dentist from providing treatment, and they can accidentally injure the child or a member of the dental team. When these children are placed under general anesthesia, dentists can easily perform extensive and time-consuming procedures without any hindrance.

So, what’s the Process?

The process is simple. During a routine dental examination of your child, if a dentist finds that your child has multiple teeth cavities, or several milk teeth need to be extracted, he or she may recommend you consider your child’s treatment under general anesthesia at an ambulatory surgical center. You will meet with their surgery coordinator who will have you fill out our patient packet and may even direct you to this site. In addition to filling out our patient packet and providing us medical insurance information the patient will need to be seen by their Primary Care Physician (PCP) to have a complete Health and Physical (HP) clearing the patient for his/her dental/oral surgery under general anesthesia. This must be completed with in 30 days of surgery. We want to have all this information in order to ensure a successful visit before your surgery date.

Once your surgery date gets closer you will be contacted by our team to confirm your check in time, review post operative instructions and answer any last minute questions you may have.

They day of surgery, you will meet your child’s anesthetist, who will evaluate the health status of the child to decide whether he or she is healthy enough to be put under general anesthesia. He or she will then review the process and his/her role in the patient’s care. Next, your dentist will meet with you and review his/her plan for your child. The treatment plan is prepared in consultation with the anesthetist.

What Happens After Surgery?

After you wake up from general anesthesia, you’re good to go as soon as the patient is conscious and your vital signs are fully normal. Children are discharged under the care of their parents, while adults can drive back home. If the patient is an adult, they will not be able to drive themselves so that is why it’s important that whoever will be accompanying you needs to plans on staying on the premises during the duration of your surgery and recovery.

Being parents, we understand that nothing is more important than our children’s health and safety. If your kids need dental care, make sure it is performed in a safe and comforting environment such as an ambulatory dental surgical center.