Anesthesia at Age 2 for Such a Prolonged Time

What kind of anesthesia are you talking about? What kind of dental work?

You need to give us more info. Are you talking about putting her out through an IV - twilight sedation? I hate to say but that only makes it easier on the dentist.

When I was 5, I had a cavity filled and probably had 1 more per year for a few years (bad teeth) and the dentist never used anything on me. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I had my first shot of Novocaine.

What kind of dental work could a 2 year old need that would take that long? For sure the shorter the time the better. But he has all baby teeth so what could they need to do that would take so long?

There are risks to any surgery. She will be fine with 5 hours. The anesthesiologist will keep a close eye on her:) My son had his first open heart surgery at 11 days old. He was on life support (completely sedated and medically paralyzed) for 15 days following surgery. He's been under anesthesia several times for more than 12 hours. Recently he went in for a heart cath and had complications. He was kept under anesthesia and intubated for 3 days. He just turned 5 and is very bright (reads, has an extensive vocabulary, etc). We often joke that the extra oxygen must have helped his brain cells.

((HUGS)) for you. I know it is a scary time! I was worried sick when my oldest needed tubes--this was before our middle was born with a complex heart defect:)

I know someone who's 3 yr old child was under anesthesia for 8 hrs due to open heart surgery.
They were/are fine.

What sort of dental work does a 2 1/2 yr old need to have?
You might as well get it all over with in one appointment.

I've had two crowns done in the same setting and it didn't take more than an hour...that included all the work, and fitting a temporary. I cannot imagine ANY amount of dental work taking 5 hours, unless they are capping every single one!

I wouldn't have my child under anesthesia for any amount of time, much less 5 hours, as long as there was another alternative.

For those that were not aware, many dentists offer the option to parents for sedation dentistry to get it done in one visit vs repeated visits to the dental office. My DD had 7 fillings of various degrees. She was in the OR for about an hour. For this child to need 5 hours of work, that's serious business. My friend's son also had about 5 hours of work, and required a couple of crowns. He was older, though.

However, like many medical questions, this should not be something you ask US but you ask THEM. Call the pediatric anesthesia department. Talk to the dentist who will be doing the procedures in the OR. You will not be allowed to go forward with the treatment if your child doesn't pass the pre-op inspection by the pediatrician AND the visit from the anesthesia team the day of. My DD has allergies and we did not know til just before her procedure if she was going to have it or not (they wanted to be sure her lungs were clear and her nose was not inflamed). Fevers will also postpone a procedure. With dentistry, the goal is to have them still and not in pain but not so heavily sedated as with a more major operation. They still need to not eat the night before, not take ibuprofen, etc.

So all that said, get your medical team's info and find out the pros and cons of doing it twice on different days for shorter durations or once for a longer duration. Talk to them about your concerns. Don't go ahead until you are confident that you have good answers, but I would think they wouldn't tell you it's OK if it's not. They don't want to be sued or cause damage to your child.

No.
Any anesthesiologist would tell you that 5 hours to be under is absolutely nothing.

I had the same concerns being under for 6 hrs for surgery last year. When I asked a friend that's an anesthesiologist, he said it was nothing at all. As in, like a total breeze and nothing to even flinch at.

I would not proceed with out a second opinion.

I cannot imagine what type of dental surgery a 2 year old would need to take 5 hours..

My wisdom teeth back in the day only took about 45 minutes.. the recovery to get into the car to be driven home took another hour.. that is what took the longest.

Have you gotten a 2nd opinion? I ask bc it was recommended by our reputable pediatric dentist the one of my daughters have 3 cavities filled under anesthesia. She was older - I think 5. But like you, I was apprehensive. My husband asked around and we found another pediactric dentist. He said rubbish and only 2 cavities needed to be filled anyway. He did the fillings just fine without anything but novacaine. I realize a 2.5 year old is younger to sit still etc but I would still get a 2nd opinion. I'm so glad we got away from that first dentist. And btw - that 3rd "cavity" still hasn't been filled 2.5 years later with no problems from it and it'll fall out someday! These are all baby teeth. Not sure 5 hours of surgery shoudl be necessary.

That is a really long time for a little one for a dental procedure. I would check with doctor and if there are any other options. Maybe they can break up the procedures into two different days etc. Don't do it until you are comfortable and completely understand what is needed and what will happen etc.GL

I can't imagine any sort of procedure on one tooth that would take that long. Please verify with the dentist themselves, not the office staff, the dentist.

My granddaughter fell and broke her front tooth off and had to have a cap put on it, she also had some other cavities. She had work done on 4 or 5 teeth all together and wasn't under for over 45 minutes.

My grandson had gold caps put on a couple of top rear teeth, a couple of fillings on the lower molars, and a couple of other teeth with little spots that were the start of a cavity that they just wanted to smooth off. He was out a little over an hour.

So, I don't know what they'd be doing on one tooth that had to be done all at once and could not be broken up into smaller surgeries.

If this were me considering having this done on one of my grand kids I would try to understand what the procedure is, why it takes so long, what can be done to shorten the length of time such as doing several different days of anesthesia, etc.....

DO NOT DO THIS WITHOUT THE ANESTHESIA. It IS so much easier on the kids and on the parents when it's all done. The kids wake up, ready to go, they don't have any side effects such as disorientation or time for it to get out of their system, they just sleep until it's all gone then they wake up fully rested and ready to go eat and play.

I am really hoping you'll expand what the dentist is planning on doing in that time frame. I do know that many kids have cavities and it has absolutely nothing to do with brushing, flossing, diet, etc....it's genetic or environmentas.

I could find out the exact dangers but length of time is not one of them.

I work for anesthesiologists. :) Granted I am an accountant so useless beyond repeating what I have heard.

Two things I know for sure, listen to all the instructions and obey them if you slip up don't lie about it! Make sure it is an actual anesthesia group and not the dentist doing the anesthesia.

The reasons are the complications I have heard of, and I do hear that stuff, 95% is someone not following instructions and then lying about it. Anesthesiologist are held to a much higher standard than a dentist. Our mobile group has specific doctors and nurses that do nothing but pediatric another group that does adults.

My younger son had dental work at three. I was more afraid of the mental than the physical of being knocked out. Turns out he was fine on both counts. :)

What kind of dental work would require five hours in a 2 1/2 year old. Is she getting dentures. I would run not walk away from that dentist.

I went through this. I first, would get a second, and third opinion. Go with the doctor you are most comfortable with and obviously have it done in a hospital were your child can be monitored closely and by the correct doctors. My child was 3 1/2 and now almost 4 1/2, has had no damage or side effects from the surgery. The only complaint she had after the surgery was that her heels hurt from being so still for so long. She was a trooper and did amazing! Good luck to you and your child :)

I noticed that several responses below assume that the procedure(s) will be done in an OR environment or even under the supervision of an anesthesiologist. Since you haven't specified that, I won't assume that.

If the procedure is being done by a dentist or an oral surgeon in the dentist or oral surgeon's office, I would be concerned about:

1) the true need to undergo such a lengthy treatment under anesthesia
2) the type of anesthesia being delivered (is it IV sedation which renders the patient more or less 'unconscious' and which can have serious risks if not monitored properly, or is it nitrous oxide - aka 'laughing gas' with less risk, but it's still a very long time.
3) the training of staff who are monitoring the patient during their period under anesthesia while the dentist/surgeon is working.

My MIL had IV sedation for removal of a tooth in an oral surgeon's office -normally a 5 minute procedure. However the amount of anesthesia calculated for her was incorrect and she nearly stopped breathing and had to be 'bagged'. We narrowly averted a catastrophe.

Having said that, I would NOT undergo this procedure(s) without a second opinion. As others have said, some baby teeth may not need to have their cavities filled.

Best wishes.