Southland Children’s Dentistry has an experienced pediatric anesthesiologist on staff that administers intravenous (IV) sedation to patients who are fearful or extremely anxious about their dental visits. IV sedation is sometimes referred to as “sleepy dentistry” or “twilight dentistry”, and involves administering a dose of sedatives directly into the bloodstream through an IV. Prior to this, our pediatric anesthesiologist will administer nitrous oxide (laughing gas) or a small injection to quickly relax your child prior to getting his/her IV. This will immediately calm your fearful or anxious child, and they will not easily recollect anything this time. We do highly recommend informing your child’s dentist of any medication or medical treatments they are receiving prior to their procedure. Our pediatric anesthesiologist will discuss pre-op and post-op instructions with you in advance to give you time to ask any questions that you may have.
Dr. Dennis Stone, MD, is our certified pediatric anesthesiologist. He became certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology in 1980 and earned his recertification in 1993. Dr. Stone has practiced over 21 years at the Wolfson Children’s Hospital where he served as Director of the Pediatric Anesthesia Department, Director of Outpatient Surgical Services, and Director of Pain Management Services. Since 1998, he has provided IV sedation for children in pediatric dental offices in the NE Florida and SE Georgia areas. We are happy to have him as a part of our Southland Team to help ease the fears of our pediatric patients during their dental procedures.