Safe intravenous sedation for oral surgery in a primary care setting

Conscious sedation is a useful adjunct in oral surgery due to the invasive nature of procedures and the prevalence of dental anxiety in the general population. The most common conscious sedation technique used in the UK is intravenous sedation with a single drug, midazolam, which has an excellent record of safety. This paper gives an overview of areas to consider when planning oral surgery procedures in primary care under intravenous sedation with midazolam, to enhance success and patient safety. The fundamentals of providing safe sedation include careful patient assessment, patient preparation, a good understanding of the complexity of treatment, and an appropriately trained team. This paper also reviews the current guidance on conscious sedation in the UK, the governance of sedation in dentistry, the medications used, and training of the sedation team.