Journal of Periodontology

Journal of Periodontology

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Journal of Periodontology

In the article The Use of Moderate Sedation by Periodontists by the American Academy of Periodontology (2013), the authors make a brief analysis of how pain control has been established in periodontal care in the near past while structuring improvement recommendations for the future. The authors note that pain control does not only encompass use of pharmacologic agents, but also necessitates anxiety control to ascertain patients sit comfortably. Given that anxiety control using pharmacologic elements is permitted to some individuals, there is a need for advanced standard reforms to allow increased knowledge for other Periodontists. The primary objective is to ensure professionals have adequate knowledge of the various forms of sedation with their associative administering levels. Patient anxiety is a vital treatment concern in modern Periodontology given implications of poor patient handling.

Conscious sedation is a state of responsive numbness with varying sensations per patient and type of pharmacologic agent. Important to note in the article is that moderate sedation is what causes this form of responsive numbness where the patient is aware of events throughout the procedure. According to the article, moderate sedation makes a patient feel as if there is a cloud hanging up above their heads producing a state of no care. Most patients perceive that they are somewhere relaxed enjoying worldly pleasures (AAP, 2013). Moderate sedation instills partial memory loss in the patient from the moment the medication enters the bloodstream to when it wears off. Despite patients being responsive, they do not recall performing anything. This state of memory loss is what necessitates training. At adverse levels, sedation can cause permanent memory loss in the patient or gaps in functionality that can also be both temporary and permanent.

Dentists need to be interactive throughout the treatment procedure to be aware of any abnormalities resulting from sedation. The medication that causes conscious response requires the doctor to interact with the patient to ascertain on levels of numbness and specific areas of lack of sensation (AAP, 2013). There is always the threat of the patient developing anesthesia. The article teaches that dentist-patient interaction in the use of moderate sensation does not only take place during the procedure, but also before the procedure. Safe sedation requires the professional to identify any medical hazards such as obesity or sleep apnea in the patients to reduce probabilities of anesthetic complications (AAP, 2013). Interaction is a form of anxiety treatment that provides personal information in the historic medical sense and present procedural contexts.

Patient anxiety continues to grow in concern in Periodontology given its direct connection to pain control. Despite sedative measures allowing pain control, anxieties during the states o numbness negate treatment efficiency. To ascertain patient comfort, there is a need for improved professional training and education in the types and degrees of sedation in respect to patient requirements. Patients experience different sensations under sedation thus necessitating professional awareness as forms of protection against adverse implications such as anesthetic shock and permanent memory loss. Dentist during treatment establishes awareness through interaction with the patient. Continuous communication narrates on the degree of numbness and areas the patient lacks sensation because of sedation. This information provides a good map for the course of action during the procedure facilitating patient comfort. Moreover, it acts as a protective protocol in events of sedative complications.

Reference

American Academy of Periodontology. (2013). The Use of Moderate Sedation. Journal of Periodontology. 84. (4). 435.