Is office dental sedation for you?
- Cedar Lodge Dental
- February 14, 2019
- Cedar Lodge Dental
Stephanie Jones CRNA, MSN
Office based sedation is a wonderful service that we are blessed to offer at Cedar Lodge Dental Group. What makes our practice so special? We are able to keep our patients where they feel comfortable, not referring them to another dentist or even another town. Patients get to stay at Cedar Lodge with Dr. Paul and Dr. Ross while being safely sedated. Our team works together to provide you with the highest level of excellent dental and medical care. Dr. Paul and Dr. Ross focus on the dentistry, while I Stephanie Jones, CRNA focus on the anesthesia.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am married to Dr. Paul. Together we have four children. “His” two daughters; Madison 24, Avery 17, and “Mine” two boys, Miles 16 and Beckett. And we do have two “ours”, Aspyn (yellow lab) and Piper (chocolate lab), each just over two years old. Our children and dogs keep us busy and on our toes at all times! If I do have any spare time, I enjoy running, baking and mostly just hanging out at home with my husband and kids.
I grew up in (Northeast) Seneca, Kansas, a town much smaller than Hays, born oldest daughter and number two, in a family of seven children. Family, service to others and community and ‘God at the center’, are the values that are deeply engraved in who I am.
I graduated from Baker University School of Nursing with an RN, BSN in May 1998. I had accepted a Kansas Board of Regents Scholarship with the Nemaha Valley Community Hospital in my hometown and I went back to Seneca, Ks to fulfill my 2 years of service. While working only 3 nights per week there, I decided I needed something else. I took a second job in the operating room at St. Francis Hospital in Topeka, Ks. I worked two jobs until I completed my contract requirements with the Seneca hospital. Shortly after that, I decided that I would like to further my nursing education. I loved working in the OR, so moving onto Nurse Anesthesia was a natural choice for educational advancement for me. St. Francis hospital sponsored my education 100%, and in return, I was obligated to two years of service to them upon passing my boards. I graduated from Kansas University School of Nurse Anesthesia in December of 2004, CRNA, MSN. I have been practicing as a Board Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) since taking my boards in February of 2005. Two years after I graduated, the KU program upgraded to a Doctorate Program (DNP), which most programs have adopted today as well. I love being an advanced practice nurse, and I love providing anesthesia! My anesthesia background is broad and yet very specialized. As anesthesia providers, we work in a team setting with other nurse anesthetists (CRNA), or Anesthesiologists, or per our Kansas State law, we can practice independently. I have 14 years of general surgery experience with pediatrics and adults, as well as extensive background in cardiac and dental anesthesia. Which ultimately lead me to Hays, Kansas in 2016, where I practice dental anesthesia exclusively for Cedar Lodge Dental Group. I continue to provide anesthesia at many surrounding hospitals and surgery centers, and I enjoy all settings due to the variety of patients and cases that keep my skills sharp and learning from others in my profession.
Now back to office sedation!
Below is a list of the most frequent requests I receive for sedation:
- Dental anxiety or dental phobia (child or adult)
- Experienced a traumatic/bad dental event as a child or adult
- Young child who (18 months or older) is apprehensive or has numerous restorations that will require additional time in the chair
- Teenager/adult requiring multiple extractions, such as wisdom teeth, or full mouth extractions for permanent dentures or implant placement
- Patient does not like the sound of the dental drill or getting a shot in their mouth
- Special needs adult or child (Autism, MR, dementia, Asperger, ADHD/ADD)
All of these requests are valid and are evaluated per individual patient. I begin each anesthesia request with obtaining a thorough history and physical and review for each patient. Collaboration with your primary or specialist care physician is utilized when necessary (labs, EKG, echo, cardiac clearance). Safety is ALWAYS our number one priority! While office sedation is safe, there are patients who are just NOT candidates. These are some EXCLUDING health concerns: BMI (body mass index) over 40, difficult airway (known difficult intubation), co-morbidities which may include: congenital heart defect, congenital airway defect with/without repair (cleft palate), recent stroke or heart attack, uncontrolled blood pressure, uncontrolled insulin-dependent diabetic, juvenile diabetic, enlarged tonsils (tonsils that touch), uncontrolled asthma, heavy smoker with chronic cough, and extreme reflux (GERD). These are just a few examples of the types of health concerns that need to be addressed and properly handled in a hospital or out-patient surgery center. I’ll say it again, PATIENT SAFETY IS ALWAYS OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY!
We serve a really good combination of children, teenagers and adults for sedation at Cedar Lodge. I am always upfront about the risks and any concerns I might have with regard to patient safety. I give each patient or parent/guardian the opportunity to discuss any questions or concerns that they may have before the dental sedation date. I personally call each patient or parent/guardian with instructions prior to receiving sedation and talk them through the process of what to expect, as well as medication prescriptions they will be taking home with them. I provide each patient or parent/guardian with my cell number, that they may reach me with any concerns or questions, (before or after the procedure) as well as a quick link to either Dr. Paul or Dr. Ross with any questions. At all times we want our patients to feel that they are being served and taken care of.
Like I said at the beginning, I feel so blessed to get the opportunity to care for you and/or your loved one, and to provide a safe and wonderful dental/anesthesia experience! Come check us out, we would love to take care of you!
