title: Could conscious sedation with midazolam for dental procedures be an alternative to general anesthesia?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of our study was to evaluate the likelihood that conscious sedation (CS) with intravenous midazolam could become an alternative modality to general anesthesia (GA) for dental procedures.
  
  
  METHODS
  In our study, 58 and 47 American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)-1 pediatric patients, aged 2-12 (mean 6) years, underwent dental procedures and minor oral surgical procedures under GA and CS with intravenous midazolam, respectively. The two groups were evaluated in terms of vital signs, duration of the treatment procedure, patient behavior, and the treatment comfort experienced by the physicians.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The oxygen saturation level was significantly lower (GA: 99.0 ± 0.30, CS: 98.4 ± 1.02; P < 0.001) and the duration of the treatment procedure was significantly shorter (P < 0.001) in the sedation group compared with the GA group. The physicians encountered various difficulties during implementation of the treatment strategy in cases where they used CS. Minor oral surgical procedures and tooth extraction processes requiring no saline irrigation, however, could be performed successfully under CS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In cases requiring multiple dental management issues, the sedation method was not found to be a useful alternative to GA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Turkey.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Silay
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Candirli
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Taskesen
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Coskuner
authors.forename: K T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Ceyhanli
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yildiz
mesh_terms: D000768:Anesthesia, General; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016292:Procedural Sedation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D008297:Male; D008874:Midazolam; D061646:Operative Time; D019647:Oral Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D008874:Midazolam; D010100:Oxygen