Frequently Asked Questions /
Policies and Forms
Frequently Asked Questions Concerning
General Anesthesia
What Is It?
Anesthesia is defined as the loss of feeling or sensation with or
without a loss of consciousness. In reality, anesthesia does more. In
addition to keeping your child pain free during surgery, anesthesia
controls the body’s reaction to stress and relieves the fear and anxiety
almost always associated with surgery. Anesthesia may begin with an
injection or by inhaling- breathing in- gases mixed with oxygen.
Sometimes these different methods are used in combination.
One of the most important roles of an anesthesiologist is to evaluate
your child’s medical status preoperatively. Dr. Hersey requires a
pre-operative health history and physical prior to your child’s dental
surgery. The physical would be scheduled with your current general
practitioner or pediatrician.
Why would a child need general anesthesia just
to have teeth fixed?
Unfortunately, many children suffer from serious, potentially painful
dental diseases. Unlike such health conditions as colds and flu, dental
diseases won’t go away on their own. When treatment is required for a
serious dental condition, general anesthesia may be recommended to make
delivery of that required treatment possible in a safe and comfortable
manner. Without treatment dental caries can adversely affect learning,
communication, nutrition, and other activities necessary for normal
growth and development of your child. When a child with disabilities
needs extensive dental treatment, general anesthesia is an accepted
standard of care. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American
Dental Association, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
support this standard. General Anesthesia is also an accepted standard
of care for situations involving children who have limited comprehension
or children who are extremely uncooperative and require dental care that
is technically difficult or sensitive to deliver.
How safe is it to have general anesthesia in
the dental office?
Dental treatment requiring general anesthesia in an office environment
poses similar risks to those inherent in any surgical procedure for
children and can be made as safe as a general anesthetic delivered in a
hospital or surgical center. Modern medicines and technology make the
delivery of general anesthesia in an office setting equivalent to the
same service in a hospital or surgery center.
We feel fortunate that we
are able to team together with Washington’s finest anesthesiologist Dr. Marlon Michel MD, MBA.
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General Anesthesia
Policies and Forms
If Dr. Hersey has recommended that your
child receive dental treatment under General Anesthesia, you will work
directly with our Treatment Coordinator. She will assist you in
scheduling, insurance billing, coordinating with the Anesthesiologist
office, pre and post op care and, of course, answering any questions you
may have in regard to this special care.
Dr. Hersey reserves two days each month for our General Anesthesia
patients. On these days, the entire office is closed so that Dr. Hersey
and staff may give your child their complete attention. You will be
required to secure “In office” General Anesthesia appointments with a
$300.00 deposit. If health issues require your child to have surgery at
Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, the deposit increases significantly.
The deposit is applied to your co-payment once treatment has been
rendered, but is non-refundable if the appointment is cancelled. Once
the appointment is scheduled, you will want to schedule your child's
pre-operative appointment with his/her Pediatrician. This appointment
must be performed within 7 days before the General Anesthesia
appointment.
Click on the following links for forms relating to your General
Anesthesia appointment:
Pre-Operative
Care Instructions
Post-Operative Care
Instructions
Physical form for the
Pediatrician to complete
Anesthesiologist:
Dr. Marlon Michel with M2 Anesthesia
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