Professional guidelines for conscious sedation in dental practice

The session outlines the current UK guidelines for the practice of conscious sedation in dentistry. The application of the guidelines to clinical practice and the training required for the dental team to undertake conscious sedation in primary care will be considered.

Learning objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• describe the need for sedation guidelines
• identify the most recent UK guidelines for the use of conscious sedation in dentistry and the main subject areas presented
• explain the relevance of national guidelines to the practice of conscious sedation
• describe the training requirements for conscious sedation
• identify important guidelines for conscious sedation in children

Any technique resulting in loss of consciousness is defined as general anaesthesia in the UK and is not acceptable under the guise of conscious sedation due to the risks to patient safety.