title: State regulations governing oral sedation in dental practice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to survey 50 state dental boards concerning their regulations governing the practice of moderate sedation administered by the oral route.
  
  
  METHODS
  An online search was conducted to review each state's dental practice act. When interpretation  of the information provided online was difficult, clarification was achieved by contacting that state board directly by telephone interview. To assist in further interpretation, the ADA's Statutory Guidelines for Conscious Sedation Permit were reviewed for comparison with the data collected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-one states required a permit to administer moderate sedation by the oral route. Every state except Kansas required minimum didactic educational requirements for permit issuance. Every state required monitoring of the patient throughout the procedure and during recovery  until discharge. In addition, all states expected the practitioner and clinical staff to be adequately trained to manage a sedation-related emergency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  State dental boards have significantly increased regulation of oral sedation over the past 10 years, but vary widely in  their permit requirements for issuance. This dis-harmony among the states should foster the national desire to develop a more unified approach in regulating oral sedation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, College of Dentistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: LaPointe
authors.forename: Marcio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guelmann
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Primosch
mesh_terms: D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000379:methods; D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D016292:Procedural Sedation; D033161:Government Regulation; D006801:Humans; D007879:Legislation, Dental; D008005:Licensure, Dental; D010377:Pediatric Dentistry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D013044:Specialty Boards; D013219:State Government; D014481:United States