A Jungle of Smiles

Orange Coast Pediatric Dentistry was designed for the child in mind. Children enter into a jungle themed environment and are able to enjoy video games, children's magazines, and televisions in all the treatment areas. This atmosphere helps children relax and enjoy their dental experience.

Take the office tour to see for yourself.

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Research has shown that adult dental fears that inhibit patients from seeking treatment are often the result of an unpleasant experience with the dentist as a child. Our goal is not to complete treatment at any costs, but to help your child become an adult who routinely and comfortably seeks dental care. This often requires extra time with your child, distraction through many of our child friendly amenities, or in some cases the use of appropriate sedatives. It is very important to discuss with Dr. Mathias any bad experiences or fears your child may have in order to provide the best possible care for your child.

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Nitrous Oxide

Dr. Mathias offers nitrous oxide sedation (laughing gas) for the slightly anxious child. Nitrous oxide helps a child who is cooperative, but worried about various aspects of their appointment. It helps make the injections less noticeable and helps to alleviate anxiety about having instruments placed in the mouth, and with the noises that they make. Nitrous oxide also decreases the gag reflex, and can be beneficial to a child who is cooperative but unable to tolerate the needed equipment in their mouth. It is important to realize that nitrous oxide requires a certain amount of cooperation from the child, they are required to have a plastic nose piece placed over their nose and breath through their nose. Nitrous oxide is not effective in children who are too young or too anxious to sit in the chair and have the nose piece placed on their nose.

Nitrous oxide is an extremely safe sedation alternative. When your child is breathing nitrous oxide they are receiving more oxygen then they are getting in room air!

When the mask is placed on the child's nose, it will take 1-5 minutes for the effects to be seen. Some children are very dissociated, as if they are unable to talk, while others become very comfortable and may giggle or tell stories. Occasionally a child will fall asleep, but typically your child will be awake for the entire procedure. After treatment is complete, the nitrous gas is turned off and your child will breath 100% oxygen for a few minutes to clear the nitrous from their system. This helps to alleviate dizziness. Your child will then be placed in a seated position for a few minutes to be sure they are not dizzy, and released. Some children appear as if they have just woken from a nap for about 30 minutes. This is normal and will subside shortly. Some children begin crying or become agitated once the nitrous has been turned off, because the anti anxiety effects of the gas have been removed.

Oral Sedation

Oral sedation utilizes medications (typically Versed and Vistaril) to help alleviate anxiety.

Oral sedation is an excellent option for children who are too anxious for nitrous oxide alone, but have limited treatment needs (for example one filling, one extraction). Oral sedation does not last very long, therefore children with more extensive treatment needs are best treated with IV sedation, rather than numerous oral sedations.

Your child will need to be able to drink a small amount (2 tablespoons) of medication.

As with IV sedation it is important that your child arrive to the appointment with an empty stomach (NO FOOD OR WATER) six hours prior to the appointment.

Your child will be monitored according to the AAPD guidelines for sedation.

IV Sedation

IV sedation is a procedure that allows treatment to be completed on children who are unable to accept dental treatment while conscious.

Dr. Mathias works with a highly accredited dental anesthesiologist when treating children who require IV sedation (sleep dentistry). IV sedation is also a very safe procedure for healthy children. However, more risks are associated with this procedure, thus it is important to have a frank discussion with Dr. Mathias about your child's health history prior to the appointment.

The day of your child's appointment your child will arrive in our office on an empty stomach. The anesthesiologist will review your child's health and treatment needs. The anesthesiologist will then give your child an injection of sedative medication in the arm, similar to a routine vaccination. This is all your child will remember about this appointment, and some children do not even remember the shot because of the amnesic properties of the medication. This will relax your child in about 10 minutes. Your child will then have an IV placed, and the anesthesiologist will sedate them in order for the dentist to begin treatment. If it was not possible to obtain xrays previously, xrays will be taken and an assistant will advise you of the results and review any changes in the treatment plan. After dental treatment is complete the anesthesia will be reversed and your child will begin to wake up. Some children are very sleepy when they wake up, some cry and are agitated and some get the shivers. Remember, your child has a lot of medication in their system and are very confused while waking up. Your anesthesiologist will give you post operative care instructions and will allow you to go home when your child is alert enough. Please visit the treatment-post op care section of this website if you are having trouble remembering the instructions. Do not hesitate to call our office if you have questions or concerns.

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Laser dentistry can be used for many purposes:

• Decay removal.
• Cavity preparation.
• Reshape "gummy" smiles.
• General soft tissue procedures.
• General dentistry for enamel and dentin.
• Avoid being "numbed".
• Aviod the shot and pain.

What are the benefits?

Heat and vibration are the causes of most of the pain associated with the drill. Since lasers do not transmit heat or vibration, most dental procedures can be performed with no pain, virtually eliminating the need for anesthesia in many cases. The pinpoint accuracy is precise enough that your dentist can leave behind as much healthy tooth structure as possible, allowing you to keep your own teeth longer.

• Most procedures can be done without anesthesia or needles.
• Quickly removes all parts of the tooth including enamel, dentin and caries.
• Effectively performs numerous soft tissue procedures with little or no bleeding. For example frenectomies (tongue tie) surgeries no longer require stitches.
• Avoids many common problems of the high speed drill. For example, when a high speed comes in contact with a tooth, it causes micro fissures (small cracks) which weaken the tooth structure and eventually allow decay to set in.
• Creates a high quality surface for bonding composites, sealants, etc.