Action | Sedation and anesthesia permits for dentists |
Stage | Emergency/NOIRA |
Comment Period | Ended on 11/7/2012 |
The revisions are good - with two important exceptions: Moderate oral sedation will require (1) EKG monitoring and (2) the dentist will have to remain in the operatory. EKG monitoring is standard of care for IV sedation, but overkill for oral sedation. I believe these two revisions that rare created for safe IV sedation are too far reaching for the slow onset and milder form of sedation that comes with oral sedation. With regular monitoring of patients vitals and utilization of capnography, any significant change will be seen right away. Furthermore, well trained staff can easily monitor oral sedation patients with the dentist within close proximity. We have been doing oral sedation safely for over 20 years and have appreciated the Boards handling of sedation but feel these two components are too far reaching and will not improve safety but will cause patients fees to increase significantly for a procedure that is hardly ever covered by dental insurance. Thank you for reading my thoughts, Greg Johnson, DDS