Triazolam use in the dental setting: a report of 270 uses over 15 years.
This single-site prospective study describes a technique of oral conscious sedation (OCS) that uses triazolam with either local anesthesia or the combination of local anesthesia and nitrous oxide sedation. Over a 15-year period, 188 patients at a private dental practice were followed. Patients received one weight-based dose of triazolam 60 minutes prior to treatment to allow for 60-90 minutes of working time and an additional 60 minutes of recovery time. A supplemental dosage equal to half the initial dose was necessary for 10% of patients and was administered 30 minutes after the initial dose if there was no evidence of sedation. Another 20% required sedation augmented with nitrous oxide/oxygen mixtures of 30-50%. Effective OCS was achieved for 98.4% of all participants. These findings indicate that triazolam may be an extremely effective medication when used for OCS in the dental realm and bears further investigation to confirm these positive results.
Quarnstrom
Fred W
FW
Department of Dental Public Health Sciences, University of Washington, School of Dentistry, Seattle, USA.
Donaldson
Mark
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000648:Amnesia, Retrograde; D000762:Anesthesia Recovery Period; D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000379:methods*; D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation / Q000008:administration & dosage; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002648:Child; D016292:Procedural Sedation / Q000379:methods*; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009609:Nitrous Oxide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014229:Triazolam / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D014229:Triazolam; D009609:Nitrous Oxide