Growing up, mine never did. In fact my first run in with nitrous happened in the mid-nineties at a Phish show at SPAC and came in a balloon. My second happened in Labor and Delivery during precipitate labor.
So at Lula's dental appointment...One cavity. Her first. Sad face. No Nano....the desk lady was going over the treatment plan for her one (minor) filling. The plan included going ahead and pre-billing insurance for two fillings just in case and using nitrous which costs $65 and is not covered by insurance in addition to the standard numbing shot.
I'm not barbaric, I feel adequate pain medication is necessary. I might be a bit cheap, but what exactly is the profit margin on this pain relief for EVERY child walking through that door? Our dentists in New York and Dallas did not readily use nitrous for every procedure. Aren't we supposed to discourage drug use in children? Whose pain are we managing here? Part of me wonders if it doesn't make the most basic treatments easier for the dentists. I've poked around a bit on the internet. This is what Wikipedia says about Nitrous:
it is frequently used to relieve pain associated with childbirth, trauma, oral surgery, and heart attacks.
I think it's a bit excessive to break out the gas for a surface cavity. I hate it when I grow suspicious of a care giver. Please tell me what you think.
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7 comments:
Haven't crossed that bridge with the kiddo - but I always had laughing gas as a child, sometimes without novocaine (I think).
If it was complicated/involved having mouth open for a really long time (like four cavities or teeth pulled or something), then I'd say yes. But one surface cavity?
Not necessary.
aw shit, i had it when i was about that age. loved it.
Unfortunately, dental offices are businesses and I think they "add on" things that aren't really necessary.
I hope everything turned out okay...
I use nitrous 2X a year when I get my teeth cleaned. I love it. Lucky for me my dentist charges less for it. I always tell my husband he should ask for it because its legal and fun. This makes him roll his eyes talk about how its not necessary which reminds me that he doesn't know what he's talking about. I've loved it since I was a kid so probably a good idea to just not get them started on it!
I always listen to the pit of my stomach.
Tom loves the stuff and it all started in San Francisco at our very lush and expensive dentist. Maybe it's a Cali thing?
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