I-8 Balancing Efficacy and Safety for Anxiolysis, Analgesia and Patient Cooperation During Dental Outpatient Procedures

CE Hours: 1.5

Description: The goal of outpatient regimens for anxious dental patients is often described as 'sedation', a non-specific decrease in consciousness and patient responsiveness which is often accompanied by respiratory depression. The patient perspective suggests that reduction in anxiety and minimal pain during the procedure are more specific outcomes that can be accomplished with drugs that produce negligible CNS depression: benzodiazepines, effective local anesthesia and nitrous oxide. This presentation will describe the scientific evidence to support safe pharmacologic strategies for outpatient procedures without the risks of parenteral drug administration or additive drug combinations that incrementally reduce safety with little benefit to the patient.

Learning Objectives:  

• Identify the major variable that contributes to therapeutic efficacy and sedation for outpatient sedation procedures in dental offices
• Identify the drugs, doses and routes of administration that optimize the balance between safety and therapeutic success
• Identify the benefits of having an appropriately trained clinician to monitor the patient, administer the anxiolytic agents and manage adverse events independent of the clinician performing the dental procedure