title: Patient anxiety and IV sedation in Northern Ireland.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In recent years there has been an increase in the provision of conscious sedation, which is said to be a safe and effective means of managing the anxious patient. However, there are no guidelines to aid the dental practitioner in assessing the patient's need for sedation based on their level of anxiety.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present study investigated the importance of patient anxiety as an indicator for IV sedation, using focus groups to inform the development of narrative vignettes. Ninety-nine practitioners responded to a series of scenarios to determine whether the level of patient anxiety and the patient's demand for IV sedation influenced their decision making.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Level of dental anxiety had a stronger influence on the clinician's decision making than patient demand, with increasing levels of dental anxiety being positively associated with the likelihood of clinicians indicating a need for IV patient sedation and also, the likelihood of clinicians providing IV sedation to these patients. Only 14% (n = 14) of respondents reported formally assessing dental anxiety.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While dental anxiety is considered to be a key factor in determining the need for IV sedation, there is a lack of guidance regarding the assessment of anxiety among patients.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Dental Education, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Grosvenor Road, Belfast BT12 6BP. o.hunt@qub.ac.uk
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: McCurley
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dempster
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003149:Community Dentistry; D016292:Procedural Sedation; D003657:Decision Making; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003729:Dental Care / Q000523:psychology; D003796:Dental Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D005792:General Practice, Dental; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009660:Northern Ireland; D013515:Surgery, Oral; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult