Hopefully someone can help me. My 7 year old daughter has had problems with her 2 - 6 year old molars. She has had them for several years now. (She was born with 2 teeth and had most of her baby teeth by 7 months. Her 6 year old molars came in early). Both of them decayed and we have done routine dental cleanings every 6 months since she was 3 years old, brushes twice daily, etc. For about a year these teeth have been getting worse and our dentist kept drilling through them and allowing them to drain due to abscessing. Now, one of the teeth is continually abscessed. I went for a second opinion to a pediatric dentist. They suggested 2 extractions, root canal on a tooth in front of the molar due to beginning to decay from the molar, crown on that tooth, and space maintainers. We made a return appt. This was very overwhelming for her. The laughing gas did not affect her at all. She was very anxious and gags when anything in put into her mouth. I have never seen my daughter have so much fear it literally had a lump in my throat to cry. Our appt was postponed and suggested we have general anesthesia. Does anyone know how well this works on children, is there any side effects on children, mortality rate, etc? We were told if this is not done it could be life threatening. I am just as equally scared as my daughter. Can anyone help ease my anxiety so I can help my daughter and how long will she be under for all this? Thanks

I have heard of general ansthetic. It tends to be used when there is a lot of work to be done on a young child. It may be the way to go.

General anaesthesia is very common for young children who have extensive dental work to be done. There is always a risk with general but it is relatively minimal. Your daughter is more at risk of serious infection running through her body with untreated abscesses in her mouth. Ask the pedodontist to take x-rays and repair all teeth needing it to limit the need for further general anaesthetic. Also have him/her put pit and fissure sealants on all teeth that would benefit from them. This will prevent the biting surfaces of these teeth from getting cavities.
If this helps... my 3 yr old grandson had to have some dental work done under general this past January. He did great and the best part is, he doesn't recall any unpleasant filling appointments!