🚀 go-pugleaf

Help! Need info about dental work for my retarded child.

Would you please share with me your good/bad experience with dental work
(crown, root canal, extraction, etc.)for a severely disabled teenager
under IV sedation in clinic and/or under general anesthesia in OR.

This is the situation with my 18 year old son Sterling who doesn't walk or
talk and is developmentally functioning at the level of a toddler:

For the past 15 years Sterling has received dental treatments such as
cavity fillings, plastic sealants, and even baby tooth extraction in
clinic from a pediatric dentist.

During treatment Sterling was immobilized in a papoosh board and a clamp
was used to keep his mouth propped open. No sedation was ever required and
I was permitted to stay in the room with him during his dental treatments.
Sterling never cried and was always calm and cooperative.

Recently the dentist told me that Stering had developped serious cavities
and that he will probably require crown/caps and even root canal and that
this would need to be done under sedation in a hospital, perhaps even
under general anesthesia in OR.

I'm very concerned about the general anesthesia's high risk factor. My
instinct is telling me to avoid it at any cost. I'd like to know more
about IV sedation. How safe is it?

I'd also like to know how can a crown be placed in a mouth of a child who
is unable to talk or communicate how the crown fits in his mouth? How
would the dentist know if the crown needs adjustment?

I would be immensely appreciative for any help or guidance I could
receive.
I'm the author of Shirley's Wellness Cafe: Holistic Health Care for People
and Animals, a non-profit/public service educational site located at
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/1158/

Please cc email your response to av984@lafn.org

Thank you.
Shirley

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