title: Hungry for nothing: should dental patients fast prior to conscious sedation?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This research explores the attitudes of medical professionals towards fasting patients prior to the use of conscious sedation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Questionnaires were completed by a total of 113 dentists, anaesthetists and dental nurses in order to identify current practices and opinions concerning the employment of pre-operative fasting in the context of conscious sedation in dentistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-eight (69%) respondents did not recommend fasting, compared with 35 (31%) who did. Those who did not recommend fasting were able to state significantly more adverse effects (P<0.01) of fasting when compared to the 35 (31%) who advocated fasting. Significantly more anaesthetists (80%) than dentists (14%) advised fasting patients (P<0.001). Thirty-two of 39 (82%) respondents mentioned the risk of aspiration to be the main reason for recommending that patients be fasted.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Medical professionals in dentistry provide a wide range of conflicting views on the employment of fasting prior to conscious sedation reflecting the lack of homogeneity in literature surrounding this topic.
authors.forename: Khaled
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mahmoud-Tawfik
authors.forename: Ellie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Heidari
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Craig
authors.forename: Abdel Rahman
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Tawfik
mesh_terms: D000766:Anesthesia, Dental; D000776:Anesthesiology; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016292:Procedural Sedation; D003815:Dentists / Q000523:psychology; D004739:England; D005215:Fasting / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009719:Nurse Anesthetists / Q000523:psychology; D019239:Practice Patterns, Dentists'; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011300:Preoperative Care; D053120:Respiratory Aspiration / Q000209:etiology