Treatment Visits

We do not use any form of sedation or gas in our office. If you feel you would like that for your child, or if Dr. Alfano feels it is necessary for the safety of your child, we will refer to the appropriate dentist for that form of treatment. If your child needs to be numb, we will use topical anesthesia applied with a Q-tip to provide some surface anesthesia before administering a local anesthetic such as Lidocaine to numb the tooth to be worked on. Your child may eat before the visit, unless instructed otherwise by Dr. Alfano. Please be aware that your child will be numb for 2 to 3 hours after the visit. During that time they may drink, including milkshakes, smoothies, soup, etc. But, they may NOT EAT while numb, even soft foods, to lessen the chance of biting their lips, cheek, or tongue. When their mouth wakes up, they may resume a normal diet.

We always have children go back alone during treatment visits. This allows us to have the child’s full attention while we are explaining what we will be doing. It also allows us to work as quickly and efficiently as possible. Parents and siblings may wait in the reception area until treatment is complete. Most treatment appointments last around 30 minutes. Since the child will be lying on their back all this time, we suggest not putting their hair in a ponytail for our female patients.

Dr. Alfano will have discussed all of your child’s treatment needs at the time of their check-up. However, we want you to be as comfortable and knowledgeable as possible, so if new questions come up, please feel free to ask Dr. Alfano about any concerns you may have. If possible, please call to discuss these issues with Dr. Alfano before the day of your appointment. We want to answer all of your questions, but there have been times when a parent asks so many questions at the time of the appointment that we no longer have time to do the planned treatment, and need to reschedule the appointment.