Dental sedation by anesthesiologist or dentists: A view from Turkey

Abstract

Background: Except conscious sedation (with nitrous oxide/oxygen), sedation of dental patient has been applied by anesthesiologists in Turkey. But little is known about Anesthesiology and Reanimation Specialist (ARS)’s and Dental Medical Doctors (DMD)’s views about who manages the dental sedation. Using a survey, Turkish ARS’s and DMD’s opinions regarding sedation of dental patients, are examined.

Methods: A questionnaire was conducted to ARS and DMD participants that are active in clinical practices in Turkey. The questionnaire consists of 5 point Likert Scale which contains the options; strongly disagree (1), disagree (2), unsure (3), agree (4), strongly agree (5) , and  it aims to evaluate the perceptions of ARS and DMD participants, about 11 statements in relation to dental sedation which is performed by DMDs.

Results: From 200 ARSs and 200 DMDs, a total of 400 questionnaires were obtained. The findings reveal that except 4.5%, most of the ARSs had performed sedation or general anesthesia for dental treatment rarely or never, and half of the ARSs strongly disagreed with the statement that DMDs can provide moderate sedation during dental treatment.

Conclusions: Many ARSs in Turkey do not perform sedation of dental patients but they suspect that DMDs are able to do it.  Sedation applications for dental treatments are real necessity for handicapped or anxious patient and children. Guidelines for education and management of the sedation should be presented to clarify who should be in charge of managing sedation of dental patients. 

Keywords

• Sedation
• survey
• dental treatment

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