Chair dental anaesthesia: a survey of current and intended practice in Mersey Region

We performed a questionnaire survey to establish the current and intended practice of chair dental anaesthesia amongst recently appointed consultants, and senior registrars within the Mersey Region. Only 26% of the consultants surveyed practised chair dental anaesthesia, however, more consultants would have had their anaesthetic sessions allowed. Consultants performed 4.62 +/- 3.5 sessions per month and anaesthetised 8.0 +/- 2.27 patients per session. Cases were mostly performed in community dental centres. The most common reason for discontinuing the practice of chair dental anaesthesia was the Poswillo report and its implications. Sixty-eight per cent of senior registrars declared an interest in chair dental anaesthesia. This group had received significantly more training (p < 0.005) in dental anaesthesia than those with no interest. Most anaesthetists (52/71) felt that chair dental anaesthesia was acceptable in centres approved to Poswillo standards; 16 anaesthetists felt that it should be confined to a hospital environment and three felt that it should not be performed at all.