New Patients

If your child requires IV sedation dentistry services, your dentist will send us a referral. If you are interested in this service for your child and were not referred, please contact our office and we will be happy to go over options and contact your dentist for the treatment plan needed to ensure that Sleepy Owl Dentistry is the right fit for your child.

Once we receive the referral we will contact you via phone within 1 business day to discuss the process, answer any questions that you may have, and begin the scheduling process.

Prior to scheduling, we require that all of our patients are cleared for sedation by their pediatrician. We have a one-page history & physical (H&P) form that the pediatrician should complete. We will send you this form to bring to your pediatrician for completion, or our office can fax it directly to your pediatrician office if you prefer. Once the form is completed, please send us a copy of the form or ask your pediatrician to fax it to our office.

We will then contact you to officially schedule your child's appointment. We will add your child to the day for surgery, and call a week prior to confirm the time of the appointment. We schedule surgeries starting with an arrival of 6:45am until 1:15pm.

What to Expect

On the day of your child's scheduled appointment, your child will have a consultation with Dr. Eric and we will perform their dental work on the same day - so only one trip to our office should be needed!

You and your child will be brought to a pre-op room where Dr Eric will discuss the treatment plan, discuss the procedure, and go over any questions that you may have. Our anesthesiologist will then meet with you and your child, go over their medical history, listen to their heart and lungs and ensure we have the correct information and discuss the anesthesiology process.

Your child will then be given an injection into their arm which will calm them, allowing the anesthesiologist to place an IV to begin the procedure. Your child will be given the injection while with you, and once they are 'asleep' they will be taken to the OR by our team. Parents, or guardians, will return to the lobby during the procedure and will be provided updates by our team.

Once your child is asleep and being monitored by our anesthesiology team, we may perform new x-rays, to ensure that any dental work your child needs is completed at this appointment. If the treatment plan is varied than what was originally anticipated prior to the x-rays or detailed exam, a member of the clinical team will come to the lobby to discuss this with you.

After the procedure is complete, your child will move to a recovery room where you will be brought back to their side as they wake up. A member of the clinical team will be present with you to monitor your child as they wake up and to discuss discharge instructions. The dentist will come in and discuss the treatment performed.

As your child wakes up more and is safe to discharge (usually about 30 minutes), we will assist your child to your vehicle to head home.

Things to Note:

We are a dental surgery center and while we strive to ensure that patients are seen as close to their scheduled appointment time, occasionally we do run behind. Our team will do our best to keep you informed as much as possible should we run into delays. The entire process from check-in to discharge can take 2-3 hours, so please ensure you do not have any conflicts on the day of your child's appointment. If a school or work note is needed, our team will be happy to provide these to you.
We ask that arrangements be made for siblings or other children on the day of the appointment when possible.
The parent, or legal guardian, must remain on-site at our office during the entire duration of the procedure.

Pre-Op Instructions

Patients must not eat or drink anything after midnight the night before their procedure. If your child eats or drinks on the day of their appointment, we will have to reschedule for safety reasons.

Please have your child dressed comfortably with a short sleeve shirt and be sure to bring a change of clothes just in case of any accidents.

Children are welcome to bring a toy, blanket, or lovey that makes them feel more comfortable to their appointment.

Patients should be healthy on the day of surgery and free from any respiratory illness for at least 4 weeks prior to their appointment.

Please complete paperwork electronically prior to your child's appointment if possible. If you have any questions regarding the paperwork or need the link to complete it resent, please contact our office.
If the legal guardian is someone other than the biological or adoptive parent, please ensure our office has a copy of that documentation prior to the surgery date.

Two adults should be present on the day of the surgery. Please contact our office if you are not able to have two adults present and we can go over possible options to keep your child's appointment. Consents will need to be signed on the day of surgery by the parent or legal guardian.

Discharge Instructions

You will be provided a printed copy of discharge instructions at the appointment and our clinical staff will go over these in more detail and answer any questions that you may have.

1. Do not return child to school the day of the appointment and refrain from any strenuous activity.

2. Your child must be carefully observed by a responsible adult for the remainder of the day. Activity should be limited to watching TV, playing quietly with toys, or resting.

3. If your child would like to take a nap, that is OK. Have them lay on their side or stomach with their head turned to the side.

4. Fluid intake is very important for pediatric patients. After your child is awake and alert, encourage as much fluid as possible.

5. You may begin to introduce soft food to eat once home, for example things like applesauce, pasta, or mashed potatoes. Today is a great day for a treat too -- like popsicles or ice cream! Avoid crunchy or sticky foods. Move to a routine diet as your child feels up to it.

6. Your child's mouth will be sore for 24-48 hours after surgery. Alternating Ibuprofen and Tylenol is the most effective way to alleviate their discomfort. Follow dosing recommendations on the label as needed for pain.

7. In areas where crowns are placed, it is normal to see some bleeding at the gum line. This will heal over the next few days.

8. If your child had any extractions, they will have gauze placed at the end of surgery. Bleeding will be pretty well stopped but you may continue to see some over the next few hours.

9. Local anesthesia may be used if extractions are performed. If used, the area of the extraction may be numb for about 2 hours. Monitor that your child does not bite, chew, or suck on their lips as they can hurt themselves.

If you have any questions, you can contact the dentist or anesthesiologist -- we are here for you!

FAQs