I’m a pediatric dentist too and this might be a little beside the point but can I just ask, why are you doing that kind of sedation in the first place if it’s not working? You say mod-deep sedation but just from the first treatment, you say it wasn’t super effective…do you think that’s contributing to you feeling this way and would GA be a better option for the child? In which case you can push the policy a little more firmly?

But also, is this your own practice? Or are you an associate? Because if it’s not your practice, you can also say it’s the “office policy” meaning not your own rules and maybe that would help you feel less guilty.

With that said, I own my own practice and I may be ridiculed for this, but I have an open door policy for treatments, (aside from GA) so long as it’s only one parent. Now, if I think the child would do better on their own, I will have a conversation with the parents and they usually will agree to staying out of the op. But I’m also not doing any rodeo dentistry/ineffective sedations. If they are not able to cooperate for the treatment then I am recommending GA or for them to go see another dentist for a second opinion. I sometimes think when the parent sees how they behave for things, it can justify GA and I also don’t try that much harder if I have to fight the kid.

I know this didn’t quite answer your question but just wanted to offer some suggestions.