It is normal for children to have dental anxiety. They might have heard fictitious and terrifying stories about how dental procedures are done or may have had traumatic dental experiences in the past. The fear of pain also adds to their anxiety. Most of the time, parents can reduce their children's dental anxiety by talking to them and that there really is nothing to be afraid of. However, getting rid of children's fears is no easy task as there are children who have extreme dental fear and cannot manage to calm down. Fortunately, there is one solution—pediatric sedation dentistry.

Sedation dentistry is designed for patients who have extreme fear of dental procedures. In this procedure, depressants or numbing solutions are administered to reduce sensation in the mouth and render patients temporarily numb to pain. In most cases, this is applied to adult patients, but pediatric dentists can also administer it to children at safe and controlled doses.

There are people who are allergic to anesthetic solutions and other drugs. Therefore to ensure safety, dentists initially conduct a thorough physical examination to determine if the child's system can accept sedatives without any adverse effects. Should the dentist discover that an allergic reaction might occur, alternative sedation methods must be explored.

Pediatric dentists generally use nitrous gas (laughing gas) sedation to calm the nerves and help the patient relax. The dentist also ensures that the patient remains conscious and is able to respond to commands.

Oral sedation for children comes in capsule or tablet form. Patients take oral sedatives a few hours or a few minutes before the actual dental procedure. For parents who are considering oral sedation for their children, it would be best to consult a Chicago sedation dentist who has proven expertise on the safest oral sedatives for children.

In case the patient needs to undergo an invasive or surgical procedure, then full sedation could be an option; however, this is generally not recommended for children. The medicine can be taken orally or injected. In most cases, patients who undergo full sedation usually have no recollection of the entire dental procedure. The best thing to do is to consult a Chicago sedation dentist and ask about the safest method for sedation.

                                                                                             

In some cases, sedatives are dispensed intravenously or directly through the veins. The patient may be a little drowsy or totally unconscious depending on the type of medicine inserted. For a safe intravenous sedation, visit a Chicago sedation dentist who has proven expertise in pediatric dentistry.