For children with moderate dental needs who may be moderately anxious or scared, Oral Conscious Sedation (OCS) is a safe and cost-effective method to get a good amount of dental work done in a way that does not stress out your child (he or she may not even remember the procedure at all). Not to be confused with general anesthesia, OCS allows your child to drink some medication which helps them to relax and be easily distracted, while they remain awake for the whole time. . OCS gives our pediatric dentists about 40-50 minutes to complete their work, all while the child is awake (but relaxed). Our practice uses a combination of Midazolam (Versed), Hydroxyzine (Vistaril) and nitrous oxide for children 3 years and over (and 30lbs or over) for invasive, short procedures involving brief stressors. Midazolam is an excellent short-acting agent with a rapid onset of 15-20 minutes. Midazolam will NOT cause your child to go to sleep, but will act as a retro-amnesia medicine (usually they will not remember the dental procedure).
