You might attend regular dental checkups without any hesitation and, while you may not love some dental procedures, you don't consider them to be challenging to sit through. This sentiment may not be shared by each of your family members, though. If you have a child for whom dentist visits are a challenge, one potential solution to consider may be sedation dentistry. Sedation dentistry involves giving the patient a sedative that can render him or her somewhere between relaxed and asleep for the duration of the checkup, which can make life easier for the child, you, and the dental clinic staff. Here are some times to heavily consider sedation dentistry for your child.

Getting Your Child To The Dentist Is A Major Challenge

For unknown reasons, some children have a strong aversion to the dentist. Kids may scream and throw temper tantrums at the thought of visiting the dentist, and even getting your child out the door and into the car seat can be a battle. At the dentist, the outburst may continue, perhaps to the point that it upsets other patients and makes the process of checking the child's teeth very difficult. Opting for sedation dentistry in this scenario would make the process easier for everyone.

Your Child Experiences Anxiety Attacks

Older children may not have outbursts about going to the dentist, but may experience a high degree of anxiety in their own way. Children and teenagers who suffer from anxiety attacks may not let on that they're anxious about their next checkup, but may begin to hyperventilate — even to the point of passing out — at some point. Although it's a good idea to arrange medical care for these anxiety attacks, inquiring about sedation dentistry can be a step in the right direction to ease the mind of your child.

Your Child Has Special Needs

It can be a challenge for a special-needs child to sit through a dental checkup. Even with gentle instruction from you and plenty of patients from the dental clinic staff, some special-needs children may be resistant to sitting with their mouths open or may not be able to sit still for the required amount of time. The process of getting your special-needs child to the dentist may be so challenging that you consider skipping some appointments. It's better, however, to ask about sedation. This will ensure that the checkup gets completed as required for the good of your child's oral health.

For more information, contact companies like Peninsula Community Health Services- Medical (Cottonwood).