Many of our patients are quite anxious about seeking and receiving dental treatment. It may lead to some people avoiding dental care completely until excruciating pain gives them no choice. Dentists should be able to provide alternatives to control a patient’s anxiety and to assist them to receive treatment.

This course will cover a spectrum of anxiety-relieving alternatives. It will give the caring dentist a selection of anxiolytic techniques that can be offered to their patients including psychosedation, oral sedation and nitrous oxide sedation.

All participants will have the opportunity to administer and experience the full range of effects of relative analgesia using nitrous oxide-oxygen, and, after completing the course, will feel confident in setting up and administering this agent.

Topics include

• The basics of fear and anxiety in the dental office
• The utilisation of psychosedation techniques
• Review of Basic Life Support
• The utilisation of oral sedation
  • Relevant pharmacology, administration and monitoring
  • Indications/contraindications
  • Managing complications
• The utilisation of nitrous oxide sedation
  • Relevant pharmacology, administration and monitoring
  • Indications/contraindications
  • Managing complications

Learning Objectives

• Gain an understanding of the key causes of fear and anxiety in our patients
• Understand basic psychosedation techniques and be able to apply them
• Revise Basic Life Support
• Understand pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics, advantages/disadvantages, indications/contra-indications of oral sedation and nitrous oxide sedation
• Gain confidence in utilising oral sedation and nitrous oxide sedation

Other Information

During the practical session, participants will work in groups and learn both slow and fast nitrous oxide-oxygen induction techniques. It is essential that all participants wishing to perform any procedure on a colleague in a learning environment are registered dental professionals in Australia.