General Anaesthesia
Sedation & General Anaesthesia
General anaesthesia is a management technique that uses medications to cause the patient to become unconscious and asleep while receiving dental care. Our paediatric dentists perform all dental procedures under general anaesthetic at paediatric accredited day surgery at private hospitals with qualified anaesthetists providing the general anaesthetic service. In this setting, very young or anxious children or children with special needs can have comprehensive dental treatment completed in the operating theatre under general anaesthetic in one visit.
Our paediatric dentists are currently operating at the following locations for providing services under general anaesthetic:
- St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital (Spring Hill)
- Peninsula Private Hospital (Kippa Ring)
- Mater Children Private Hospital Brisbane MCPHB (South Brisbane) – starts in January 2015.
Children with severe anxiety or have compromised health or special needs, or young children who require extensive dental treatment would be best managed under general anaesthetic because they cannot cope treatment with nitrous oxide sedation.
You are always invited to come into the operating theatre with your child during the general anaesthetic induction. Premedication may be given to very anxious children prior induction as our anaesthetists see need. Your child is put into a state of unconsciousness for the duration of the operation. This is usually achieved by a mixture of gases which your child will breathe through a mask. The anaesthetist monitors your condition closely and constantly adjusts the level of anaesthesia.
Dental treatment for children under general anaesthetic is safe when administered by an anaesthetist in a day surgery or hospital. There is some risk associated with it. Many precautions are taken to provide safety for your child during general anaesthesia care.
All our anaesthetists are highly experienced and well trained in providing paediatric general anaesthetic services. Our paediatric dentists and anaesthetists will discuss the benefits and risks involved in general anaesthesia and why it is recommended for your child for dental treatment.