Procedural sedation in pediatric dentistry: a narrative review

Feng Gao; Yujia Wu

doi:10.3389/fmed.2023.1186823

Procedural sedation in pediatric dentistry: a narrative review

Front Med (Lausanne). 2023 Apr 26:10:1186823. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1186823. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Feng Gao^{1

2

3}, Yujia Wu^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anesthesiology, Stomatological Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
² Chongqing Key Laboratory of Laboratory of Oral Diseases and Biomediacal Sciences, Chongqing, China.
³ Chongqing Municipal Key Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Engineering of Higher Education, Chongqing, China.

Abstract

Procedural sedation and analgesia are now considered standard care for managing pain and anxiety in pediatric dental patients undergoing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures outside of the operating room. Anxiolysis, which combines both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic approaches, plays a significant role in procedural sedation. Non-pharmacologic interventions such as Behavior Management Technology can help reduce preprocedural agitation, ease the transition to sedation, reduce the required amount of medication for effective sedation, and decrease the occurrence of adverse events. As the introduction of novel sedative regimen and methods in pediatric dentistry, the potential role of mainstay sedatives administered by new routes, for new indications, and with new delivery techniques, should be considered. The purpose of this paper is to examine and discuss the current state of sedation techniques in pediatric dentistry.

Keywords: behavior management technology; drug delivery; medications; pediatric dentistry; procedural sedation.

Publication types

Review