Use of oral premedicants in pediatric dental population

Oral surgeons are frequently called upon to extract children's nonrestorable teeth. The procedure is often accomplished with either mask-induced general anesthesia or physical restraint with local anesthesia techniques. This article reviews many of the salient issues surrounding pediatric dental extraction and the techniques used for this procedure. It also highlights their difficulties. Special attention is paid to the pharmacology of midazolam and ketamine, and a protocol for dental extractions is defined.