Despite its excellent safety record there remains disquiet about the provision of conscious sedation for dental care. This applies particularly to the use of 'alternative' sedation techniques which extend beyond the 'standard' techniques (intravenous midazolam for adults and nitrous oxide/oxygen) described in Conscious sedation in the provision of dental care (2003). New guidance from the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the Royal College of Anaesthetists develops the earlier guidance to encompass the use of alternative sedation drugs and techniques. It has been prepared for dental and medical practitioners (including anaesthetists) and their teams and defines the minimum standard for safe and effective patient care whatever the clinical setting.