What to know before your child has a dental procedure involving anesthesia

Oklahoma Board of Dentistry Executive Director Susan Rogers provides a list of things parents should know when taking their children to the dentist.  

1. Make sure the child has gone through a basic health exam with the pediatrician. This is a good way to determine if there are any underlying issues that could potentially conflict with the anesthesia.  
2. Make sure the child does not have any allergic reactions.   
3. Sometimes, underlying issues do not manifest themselves until anesthesia is administered.  
4. Statistics show that 34 people across the United States, on average in a year die of anesthesia and the number of children within that is even lower.
5. Strictly follow the list of orders a doctor gives. For example, if the doctor asks that the child not eat anything after midnight, it is important to follow that guideline to avoid complications.  
6. When it comes to administering anesthesia to a patient, Rogers said there are procedures in place like having other medical professionals in the room.  

Anesthesiologists have to go through extensive training before they can give anesthesia to a patient. 

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