IV Anesthesia
General Instructions for Parents of Children having Nitrous Oxide Oxygen Analgesia
Nitrous oxide oxygen analgesia works very well for 9 out of 10 children and makes the oral surgery experience a more pleasant one. One out of 10 children does not like the feeling they get from the nitrous oxide and another technique will need to be used. When children become adolescents, the number who like the nitrous oxide drops, and for every 1 teenager who likes it, there is 1 who does not. It remains an excellent technique for children.
Nitrous oxide is administered by a full face or nasal mask. The gas has a pleasant odor and is sometimes called “sweet air”. Nitrous oxide oxygen analgesia is not used as an anesthetic and the child does not go to sleep. Their protective reflexes are not depressed by the gas. It does provide good analgesia and, in some cases, enough analgesia to remove a tooth without local anesthesia. In this office, we use local anesthesia with almost all extractions and the nitrous oxide prevents the child from feeling the local anesthetic injection. It also provides amnesia, in many cases, where the child does not remember the surgical experience.
The pre-operative instructions for nitrous oxide oxygen analgesia are as follows:
- You may have a light meal up to 2 hours prior to surgery (toast, bagel, fruit, or muffin). You must refrain from dairy, meat, fish and poultry the day of surgery until after you have had your surgical procedure.
- You may have clear liquids up to the time of surgery (juice, water, black coffee, or tea).
- There are no driving restrictions.
On the day of surgery, it is permissible for a parent to be in the room during the procedure and, in most cases, it is a good thing. I discourage two parents in the room because it is too distracting for the child and the gas will not work as well as it normally does.
During the procedure itself, it is good to be supportive of your child, however, do not be a “cheer leader”. Keep the talking to an absolute minimum, with no conversation being the best. You will notice that the surgical team talks very little and speaks in soft voices of reassurance that require no response. If the child’s attention is gotten in a manner that they need to respond, some of the effects of the gas will be lost and the patient may remember everything. That is not desirable. During the procedure, the child may also cry out and appear that they are in pain. Remember, this is an effect of the gas, as the child is numb and is not actually experiencing any pain. Wait about five minutes afterwards before asking the child how the experience was. If you wait that long, they probably will not remember much, or nothing at all.
Washington, D.C., 20006
Tel: 202.466.7555 Fax:202.466.4950
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Chevy Chase, MD 20815
Tel: 301.652.8555 Fax:301.215.7578
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