The Path to Safety in Dental Anesthesia

Sedation and anesthesia in dental office–based settings are specialty practices that have unfortunately been riddled with bad outcomes and near misses. Both healthcare professionals and the public usually receive information about these events from media reports and seldom from any other comprehensive sources. This review will identify potential sources of reliable data in which to guide practice and training.

Recent investigations into the training of practitioners and auxiliaries, the dental office–based setting, and regulations governing dental sedation and dental anesthesia practice have highlighted a glaring lack of reliable data in which to pinpoint root causes and potential solutions.

The path forward to increased safety may exist in awareness of the issues and potential closed-claims analysis of outcomes. Because of the lack of systemic and ongoing data collection for mainly private practice and dental office–based sedation and anesthesia settings, insurance and closed-claims data investigations may be the most reliable source for current morbidity and mortality examinations.