'Mum' question about tooth extraction....

[aliasojo]

.....I'm not entirely sure what to expect when my daughter gets 7 teeth out (under a GA) and I'd like to be a little more prepared.

Do I need to have any special concerns for the first night? I completely accept I'm probably being very silly, but is there any likelihood she might bleed and choke on the blood in her sleep? Obviously I will discuss with her Dentist but it's on my mind at the moment, purely because of the amount of teeth coming out.


No assumptions btw please, her teeth are not rotten.

[kjmtidea]

My 7 year old had 2 teeth taken out under GA and it wasn't half as bad as I expected, although the after care was pretty rubbish - sit in a chair with a pillow for 30 minutes and off you go with no info! It was only 2 teeth so obviously not as much as your daughter but his mouth wasn't bleeding at all when he came home, he was starving hungry because he couldn't have breakfast that morning and ate a sandwich as soon as he got home.

It looked a lot worse than it was, he was quite sleepy from the GA but that was it. Hopefully someone will have a bit more info than me soon.

[Nile]

Hello aliasojo

Listen to what the doctor says and follow his advice.

Bleeding stops quite quickly after extraction.;) The key thing is to spit any blood into a tissue and do not swallow............because swallowed blood will upset the tummy and might make her want to vomit.;)

So.............have plenty of tissues and a bowl at her bedside (just in case, although the bleeding should've stopped) and follow the doctor's advice.

Hopefully Toothsmith or Teerah will post their comments soon.

Regards

Nile

[Teerah]

Nile has put it very well. Nothing really to add to that. Just to say, try not to worry Aliasojo, the bleeding usually stops right away, there would have to be something seriously wrong for the sockets to still be bleeding through the night to the extent that she would choke. They may ooze a little but no more than the amount of saliva normally present and we dont choke on that. Best of luck

[aliasojo]

Thanks guys. Weird how you always have worries when 'office hours' are closed. :rolleyes:

[Toothsmith]

I'm afraid I would disagree with Nile about spitting out.

I always advise my patients just to swallow. The amount of blood is never as much as it seems - and trying to spit it out when you feel groggy from the GA anyway will probably cause quite a bit of distress at the 'apparent' amount of blood.

It will mostly be red saliva (more saliva will be produced because of the taste of the blood in the mouth, making it seem like much more blood) and it will create a scene like Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the bedroom.

I'd say just swallow, and let her sleep it off.

[Nile]

I have no problem being corrected:o by Toothsmith, he is the expert after all.;)

I hope all goes smoothly for your daughter, aliasojo.

Regards

Nile

[Toothsmith]

I would go with what the person recommends on the day! I might be wrong!

My extractions are all local anaesthetic - so there's numb mouths to consider as well, which really gets messy with spitting out!

[Teerah]

I would go with what the person recommends on the day! I might be wrong!

My extractions are all local anaesthetic - so there's numb mouths to consider as well, which really gets messy with spitting out!

Just shows how we can differ. I do recommend my patients (adult and child) spit out if necessary. Again, I dont work under GA though.

[Toothsmith]

There you go then!

Ask 2 dentists you get 2 different opinions!

[dizziblonde]

I'll just add being forced to swallow after having teeth pulled out as a kid was what set me off on a lifetime's dental phobia. It was the utter terror of what I felt as having to drink my own blood by a dentist who was terrifying at the best of times that led me to hide the reminder cards when they came through the door, and then to refuse to go to the dentist for over a decade and to run out sobbing when I had to go recently facing another extraction at the memories of what my childhood dentist did to me.

If she wants to spit it out - I'd let her, advise her to do whatever you're told but if she can't face swallowing it, don't belt her round the ear like my mother did to me when I wanted to spit it out and just get the ikk out of my mouth desperately.

[Toothsmith]

Fair point - it doesn't really matter either way.

Sounds more like your Mum who was 'forcing' the swallowing. Probably a bit like mine - anything a person in a white coat says is gospel, and MUST be adhered to!

[jugglebug]

It's been 3 years since I last did a GA session but I guess I still remember what it's about ;)

7 teeth is nowhere near the levels we regularly used to do at the childrens hospital in Derby.
My record was 19 (and that was only because someone else had taken out 1 somewhere else so there were no more left for me)

A small amount of blood does seem like a massive amount when it mixes with saliva as toothsmith says.
We would make sure the bleeding had stopped before taking the youngsters through to the recovery room where mum / dad was waiting.
However when the young uns wake from GA the 1st thing they would do is have a poke about to see what's what. Fingers obviously can dislodge a blood clot but so can a determined tongue :p SO very often we would have to do it all over again if the child in question would let us. Very often they would be there due to being uncooperative for conventional treatment so wouldn't let us put any pressure on the gums to arrest the bleeding, but guess what, it stops eventually anyway as long as you can persuade em to stop with the prodding:mad:

Spit /swallow, don't much care but blood is a gastric irritant, however in small amounts it isn't a concern

[tirednewdad]

Generally i prefer my patients not to spit out, but it doesn't make a significant difference which one you do.

I tell them not to spit out unless they really feel they need to.

ALIASAJO- there are things to expect from GA's but choking on the blood is not one of them.
They will go through all of this with you including aftercare as they have to so you can give your consent to the proceedure.

Half of children will get hangover like feeling after the anaesthetic, a very small proportion will have a nightmare the same night but most children have no side effects

as toothsmith says every dentist is different

[Jojo the Tightfisted]

Bedtime story follows...child whimpers for 2 - 3 seconds, goes night nights, wakes up, teeth gone, whinges on way home, hears ice cream van, teeth forgotten.

In the meantime, in a parallel Universe....

Adult gets more and more anxious, does brilliant job of appearing calm Mummy type, child goes night night, parent sobs for 5 minutes solid, feels totally lost and helpless, wears track in waiting area from pacing up and down the same route a thousand parents have done before, twenty minutes feels like hundred lifetimes, feels like heart has stopped beating until they see child again, intense relief followed by mild irritation when it becomes apparent later at home that ice cream is the only thing on mind....sleeping child watched for 1 - 2 hours that night...

Then parent goes on to post advice on messageboard at later date!

[mrscb]

I remember when my DD had 6 out,she spat out,permenantly sat with tissue over her mouth.....slept fine that night...
Be warned about the reaction when they come round,the nurse told me she may be bad tempered and boy was she right!!!!!! she kicked and screamed and was really horrible to me(this is quite common apparently)
Dont worry(but you still will):D

[coldstreamalways]

Hope it all goes well. I'm just curious as to why she needs so many teeth out? Anaesthetists are getting less and less experience in dental GA, particularly in the South. A recent study demonstrated that trainee anaesthetists in the South felt that learning about dental GA was not worthwhile.
Surely the new NHS contract means the dental health of children is improving:rotfl:???

[Penny Watcher]

I'm just curious as to why she needs so many teeth out?

When I was about 11/12ish I had 8 teeth out (4 'baby teeth, 4 adult teeth) to make space as my teeth were over crowded. 150 years later :rolleyes: my top teeth are straight and even but my bottom teeth are still overcrowded. Should have stuck with my brace :o

[Teerah]

Hope it all goes well. I'm just curious as to why she needs so many teeth out? Anaesthetists are getting less and less experience in dental GA, particularly in the South. A recent study demonstrated that trainee anaesthetists in the South felt that learning about dental GA was not worthwhile.
Surely the new NHS contract means the dental health of children is improving:rotfl:???

Aliasojo has explained several times in the past that the reason for the GA is not due to dental neglect ;)

[~*Plushroom*~]

Half of children will get hangover like feeling after the anaesthetic, a very small proportion will have a nightmare the same night but most children have no side effects

as toothsmith says every dentist is different

And some children don't get that far because they fight the anaesthic and knock out three nurses and a dentist whilst fighting to escape :rotfl:Don't worry though OP, apparently that's very rare. I just remember my little brother doing that and a lot of injured dental nurses that day (He only has LA now instead of GA)

OP I'm sure she'll be fine, just expect a lot of complaints about not being able to eat crisps after that. Again, my brother complained for weeks on that because he had quite a few teeth out at once!