Sedation is medicine used to help a child stay calm, relaxed or asleep during treatment.

In kid words

"Sedation is medicine that helps your body feel calm and heavy, kind of like right before a nap, so you can rest through your visit." Some children stay awake the whole time and just feel very relaxed. Others drift off completely and remember little about the appointment afterward.

The parent version

Sedation describes a range of medicine used to lower awareness or help a child stay calm and still during treatment. It sits on its own spectrum, separate from a numbing shot: a local anesthetic blocks feeling in one spot while a child stays fully alert, while sedation changes how alert or aware a child is overall, anywhere from mildly relaxed up to fully asleep.

On the lighter end, nitrous oxide is breathed in through a small mask and wears off quickly. On the deeper end, IV sedation is given and watched over by a pediatric anesthesiologist, generally reserved for bigger treatment plans. You will always discuss the options with your pediatric dentist first. Nothing happens without you.

Where you might hear it at our office

Sedation is part of the full sedation and comfort menu, and most routine visits never need to reach it at all. When a visit does call for it, where it lands on that range depends on your child's age, temperament and the treatment planned, worked out together with you beforehand.

Curious about another word from a visit? The rest of the dictionary has more waiting.

Related words

Words that often come up alongside sedation: anesthesia, nitrous oxide, IV sedation.