Pedi. dental question

[melhos]

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Hello,

I am typically on SDN as a pre-pharm student. I also happen to be a parent with a pedi. dental situation that I am hoping a fellow SDN'er can help me with. I'm not sure if this question is appropriate to this forum. I wouldn't usually come here for a question like this but I'm not sure where else to go.


I recently took my 23 month old son in for a cleaning (unpleasant but okay) and back again a few days ago for the application of sealants to his 4 molars. About 5 minutes into the procedure my son is wailing and the dentist asks me if I fed him. I replied yes, about an hour before as his appt. was falling during his lunch time. She said that she recommends that her patients have NPO several hours before their appt. due to violent crying and vomiting. Of course a few minutes later my son vomits and begins to gag. They begin busily suctioning out the vomit and turning him to his side. As his mother I am totally horrified at this point as there is nothing like seeing your child laying down, screaming, and vomiting at the same time. We stopped the procedure but began again a few minutes later this time with him on a papoose board. The remainder of the sealants were applied. We went on our way.
My question is this: did the dentist have a responsiblity to tell me about not eating before a procedure? The way she spoke to me was as if it was something I should have known. Obviously I am very angry and plan to find a new dentist. Although, I also wonder if my maternal feelings are causing me to overreact. My son is completely fine and I know that the chances of him aspirating were slim to none. I suppose my concern is that the procedure was unusually cruel because of the addition of vomiting/gagging. He had absolutely no understanding of what was going on originally and then to begin vomiting must have been scary for him.

Any thoughts?

Oh yeah, you may wonder why I didn't ask her why I wasn't told. I was so frazzled by the crying that I just wanted to get out of there. It wasn't until I was almost home that I began to question the situation.
Thanks!

 

[Dutchboy]

Hello,

I am typically on SDN as a pre-pharm student. I also happen to be a parent with a pedi. dental situation that I am hoping a fellow SDN'er can help me with. I'm not sure if this question is appropriate to this forum. I wouldn't usually come here for a question like this but I'm not sure where else to go.


I recently took my 23 month old son in for a cleaning (unpleasant but okay) and back again a few days ago for the application of sealants to his 4 molars. About 5 minutes into the procedure my son is wailing and the dentist asks me if I fed him. I replied yes, about an hour before as his appt. was falling during his lunch time. She said that she recommends that her patients have NPO several hours before their appt. due to violent crying and vomiting. Of course a few minutes later my son vomits and begins to gag. They begin busily suctioning out the vomit and turning him to his side. As his mother I am totally horrified at this point as there is nothing like seeing your child laying down, screaming, and vomiting at the same time. We stopped the procedure but began again a few minutes later this time with him on a papoose board. The remainder of the sealants were applied. We went on our way.
My question is this: did the dentist have a responsiblity to tell me about not eating before a procedure? The way she spoke to me was as if it was something I should have known. Obviously I am very angry and plan to find a new dentist. Although, I also wonder if my maternal feelings are causing me to overreact. My son is completely fine and I know that the chances of him aspirating were slim to none. I suppose my concern is that the procedure was unusually cruel because of the addition of vomiting/gagging. He had absolutely no understanding of what was going on originally and then to begin vomiting must have been scary for him.

Any thoughts?

Oh yeah, you may wonder why I didn't ask her why I wasn't told. I was so frazzled by the crying that I just wanted to get out of there. It wasn't until I was almost home that I began to question the situation.
Thanks!

My wife used to work for a pediatric dentist. She said that before every sedation they went over detailed instructions and got signed consent forms. So yes, you should have been told that your child should not have eaten before the procedure.

 

[FireDancer]

Was the child sedated?????..........yes, children who are going to be sedated should be NPO but not every child coming in for sealant needs to be NPO. I would say if the child has a history of getting upset and vomiting, NPO is a good idea. Most children do not lose their cookies during sealants and so there is no need to suggest all children be NPO.