Elective mutism: effect of dental treatment with N2/O2-inhalation sedation: review and report of case.

Elective mutism in children is characterized by a marked, emotionally determined selectivity in speaking, such that the child demonstrates his or her language competence in some situations but fails to speak in other situations. An eight-year-old boy with elective mutism had to undergo restorative dental treatment. It was chosen to use relative analgesia to perform this treatment. The sedation with oxygen and nitrous oxide resulted in complete symptom remission as long as the sedation lasted.