Education and experience are the critical elements that make intravenous (IV) moderate sedation safe. New drugs, equipment, and monitoring devices become available almost every year, and it is only through continuing education that it is possible for the dentist to evaluate these items properly, some of which are initially touted by their developers as panaceas.

In 1977 the American Dental Association (ADA), American Dental Society of Anesthesiology (ADSA), and the American Association of Dental Schools (AADS) convened a conference at which Guidelines for Teaching the Comprehensive Control of Pain and Anxiety in Dentistry, part III, were developed for a continuing education program.^1,2 These guidelines have undergone periodic revision, most recently in 2007.³ Sections of part III of the guidelines (“Teaching the Comprehensive Control of Pain and Anxiety in a Continuing Education Program”) relating to inhalation sedation were presented in Chapter 19. Material pertaining to continuing education in moderate sedation, which includes the IV route, is presented below.

These guidelines present a basic overview of the requirements for a competency course in moderate sedation. These include courses in enteral moderate sedation and parenteral moderate sedation. The teaching guidelines contained in this section on moderate sedation differ slightly from documents in medicine to reflect the differences in delivery methodologies and practice environment in dentistry. For this reason, separate teaching guidelines have been developed for moderate enteral and moderate parenteral sedation.