Brycen & the Dentist

Brycen had his dental procedure completed this morning.  He did awesome and we have noticed no side effects from the anesthesia to this point.  Unfortunately, the tooth could not be saved (it was a baby tooth in the back of his mouth), but we did find out that the dentist is almost positive there was a developmental defect in the tooth where the enamel did not form properly so it really couldn't be prevented. 

Brycen getting sleepy after the oral meds.

Brycen's tooth that was removed...the top
had a huge hole with the nerve showing.

We're not sure how much Brycen understood of our visit to the hospital, though we do know the oral sleepy meds they gave him shortly after we arrived has an amnesia effect which prevents him from remembering the need to hold him down for it or anything else.  Once he was in the "operating" room, he was given a small amount of gas in front of his face to put him to sleep further.  Then they were able to administer the rest of the anesthesia through an IV in his foot.  He came out of the anesthesia great...and was even a big boy to sit on the bed to be wheeled back to us in the private room.  He did start to cry for a few minutes, but calmed down within 10-15 minutes and was ready to watch YouTube train videos while we waited to be discharged.

Being wheeled back to us after recovery.

Watching YouTube train videos while waiting for discharge.

Due to it being his back tooth that was removed, he needed a spacer inserted to prevent his 6yr molars from coming in crooked.  Unfortunately, the spacer is something that might bother him and could possibly pry away from his gums if he wanted to.  If he does that, we are to return to the dentist to have her check on it, as well as the next sets of molars will be watched.  If they do come in crooked, he may need a future procedure to have those removed as well to prevent further problems.  Otherwise, we are in the clear until his next appt in March.

As of right now, I understand that he still needs to be watched over the next several days as he may have some hidden side effects to the anesthesia such as regression.  We are not seeing anything right now, but since Autism is a neurological disorder, anesthesia can interact with the brain in other ways that it doesn't for the "normal" child.  Thank you to everybody who gave advice over the last few days as we prepared for Brycen's first time with general anesthesia!  I appreciate all the knowledge and support during a very nervous time!