Overview of paediatric dental sedation: 1. current UK guidelines

Providing dental treatment for children can often present a challenge if the child is anxious and fearful or if a potentially difficult procedure is required. The use of conscious sedation in these patients can be of great benefit.

The intention of this paper is to review the main areas of current UK guidelines for the use of conscious sedation for paediatric dental patients. The reader is directed to the individual guidelines for more detailed information.

Guidelines have been produced to ensure sedation is provided in a safe and effective manner with the appropriate facilities, equipment, staff and training available. There are three main sets of guidance pertaining to paediatric dental sedation:

The SDAC document considers a child to be anyone under the age 16 years, of normal mental and physical development, with the understanding that age of maturity is variable and due discretion should be exercised.

All the aforementioned guidance documents consider similar principles in the provision of conscious sedation in children and each subject area will be addressed with reference to the available literature.