Anesthesia policy revisions proposed
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Posted Jan. 19, 2005 |
By Karen Fox In keeping with revisions to the ADA anesthesia guidelines documents adopted in 2002, the Council on Dental Education and Licensure has proposed changes to the "ADA Policy Statement: The Use of Conscious Sedation, Deep Sedation and General Anesthesia in Dentistry."
The proposed revisions have been distributed to the communities of interested for comment. Comments — due no later than March 1 — are also welcome from individual dentists.
"The 'ADA Guidelines for Teaching the Comprehensive Control of Anxiety and Pain in Dentistry (Guidelines for Teaching)' and 'Guidelines for Use of Conscious Sedation, Deep Sedation and General Anesthesia in Dentistry (Guidelines for Dentists)' were revised in 2002 and the policy statement was last updated in 1999," said Dr. Paul G. Sims, chair of the CDEL Committee on Anesthesiology. "We're now updating the statement to make it consistent with the guidelines."
The proposed revisions to the policy statement appear in two areas of the document — Risk Management and State Regulation:
Risk management
The council proposed amending the first bullet by adding language that addresses drug pharmacology, including absorption, distribution and metabolism. CDEL believes that this new language would assist dentists to further understand their responsibility in minimizing risk to patients when providing dental anesthesia. Additionally, a new bullet was added that is consistent with the definition of titration that appears in the Guidelines for Teaching and the Guidelines for Dentists.
State regulation
Several proposed revisions appear under this section. The council recommends deletion of the sentence that urges state boards to regulate dentists' use of conscious sedation, deep sedation and general anesthesia. It's unnecessary since all state boards regulate dentists' use of these modalities.
The council also recommends replacing the word "certify" with "issue permits to" because the term "certify" could be misleading.
Finally, the council recommends the addition of "route of administration" and "level of sedation" to encourage state boards to give consideration to these elements in the safe and appropriate delivery of dental anesthesia.
"We review policy statements and guidelines as needed, and this is an example of the council keeping policies up-to-date," said Dr. Roger Wood, CDEL chair. "Now that they are in circulation, we're looking for affirmation from the dental community for the revisions."
A PDF file of the policy statement with proposed changes is available to download.
Comments can be sent by mail to Dr. Roger Wood, chair, Council on Dental Education and Licensure, 211 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago 60611; by fax to 1-312-440-2915; or
. CDEL will consider only those written comments submitted by March 1. If you have questions, call Ext. 2694.
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