Intravenous Procedural Sedation in Pediatric Dentistry: A Concise Review of Treatment Protocol

IntroductIonProcedural sedation and analgesia represent a continuum of states 1,2 ranging from minimal sedation to deep sedation that enables the safe and successful delivery of dental treatment in pediatric patients-(1) for whom basic behavior guidance techniques (BGTs) have not been successful in managing anxiety and/or fear; (2) lacking cooperative ability; (3) whose developing psyche needs to be protected; and/or (4) to reduce the medical risk. 1,2Titratable sedation modalities allow clinicians to maintain the desired depth of sedation at which dental treatment can be safely and predictably done.This is of utmost importance because-(1) the desired depth of sedation at which a particular treatment can be performed varies from patient to patient; (2) the drug dose to achieve this desired depth of sedation varies from patient to patient; (3) the desired depth of sedation varies with the type of treatment, and within a particular treatment, different steps may require differing depths of sedation; and (4) the drug dose at which the desired level of sedation was achieved may vary between appointments for the same patient.The ability to titrate the dose depending on the situations discussed earlier is what makes titratable sedation modalities, such as inhalational sedation and intravenous sedation, 3 more desirable.This review article discusses the important factors that need to be considered before, during, and after dental treatment under IV sedation in children.