Sedation in Dentistry

C M Hill FDSRCS(Ed)LDSRCS(Eng)BDS(
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Dental Hospital Cardiff, UK
N M Girdler PhD BDS BSc FDSRCS FFDRCS
Consultant and Senior Lecturer, Dental Hospital, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

'I do not think there is a suitable text which concentrates on dental sedation. There is also no doubt that, following the acceptance of the Poswillo Report, many practices no longer offer anaesthesia but wish to retain the option of offering sedation: such a text would be particularly helpful.'

'There is still a need for a good UK textbook on all aspects of sedation.'

A concise, practical guide on sedation for dental undergraduates and dental practitioners.

Conscious sedation is a safer and more cost-effective alternative to general anaesthesia in general dental practice and a major DoH report, as well as the General Dental Council regulations, have emphasised the importance of dental sedation. There are financial incentives for dental practitioners to undertake sedation and postgraduate education on the subject is being encouraged on a national basis. The undergraduate curriculum has also been restructured in the light of the Poswillo Report and students are now taught sedation techniques as part of their senior training.

There is a substantial need for this concise, practical book on sedation, catering as it does for the expanding undergraduate and practitioner uptake. At present no text on the market is exclusively dedicated to practical sedation for dental practitioners. The General Dental Council indicates that conscious sedation should form a greater part of the undergraduate curriculum as well as encouraging postgraduate study in the subject. This book is therefore in line with national recommendations and should be an essential purchase for every dental undergraduate and practitioner.

Contents: Contents; Foreword (Professor Poswillo) ; Acknowledgements; Preface; Spectrum of patient management; Applied anatomy and physiology; Patient selection and assessment; Pharmacology; Inhalational sedation; Intravenous sedation; Oral sedation and premedication; Complications and emergencies; Medico-legal and ethical considerations; Appendices; Index.

Readership: Dental undergraduates and dental practitioners; vocational trainees.