New Guidelines for Sedation in Pediatric Dental Procedures

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Academy of Pediatrics have co-written new guidelines for pediatric patients undergoing deep sedation and anesthesia during dental procedures. The recommendations were recently endorsed by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia, the American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists and the Society for Pediatric Sedation.

As reported by Physicians News Digest, the new guidelines for sedation in pediatric dental procedures “recommend that at least two people with specific training and credentials should be present with a pediatric patient undergoing deep sedation or general anesthesia for dental treatment in a dental facility or hospital. The guidelines also clarify that deep sedation or general anesthesia must be administered by a qualified anesthesia provider (a physician anesthesiologist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, dentist anesthesiologist or second oral surgeon).” Specifically, it says, this approach “requires that the dental surgeon and the professional who is monitoring and sedating the patient are two distinct individuals with separate tasks.”

Click here to access the clinical report with the “Guidelines for Monitoring and Management of Pediatric Patients Before, During, and After Sedation for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Procedures.”

Click here to read a statement issued jointly by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia, the American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists and the Society for Pediatric Sedation to express their endorsement of the new guidelines.

MLMIC recommends that all our insured dentists, pediatricians, anesthesiologists and CRNAs familiarize themselves with these new guidelines.