Missouri
Oral Sedation Dentistry Regulations
Missouri State Board of Dentistry Rule ยง4 CSR 110-4.020 (5) requires that a dentist complete the following to obtain an oral conscious sedation permit: A comprehensive training program in oral conscious sedation; at least 15 additional hours of continuing education pertaining to medical emergencies, anesthesia complications, and patient management; and ensure that two dental staff members are patient monitoring-certified.*
Find available training courses.
Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification can substitute for the 15 additional hours of CE.
*When the intent is Anxiolysis only, a permit is not required.
Pediatric Sedation Dentistry Regulations
Sedation dentistry for children is a unique science and requires pediatric-specific training. The standard of care for providing pediatric sedation requires several hours of instructive classroom training with clinically-oriented experiences. Find a nationwide course.
IV Sedation Regulations
Most states require dentists to complete a 60-hour didactic course followed by 20 actual clinical patient cases of IV administration plus a permit in order to provide their patients with IV sedation. Find a nationwide course
Regulatory assistance: DOCS Education membership provides direct access to our full-time Regulatory Counsel for assistance in complying with the training and equipment requirements, obtaining your permit, and addressing advertising issues.
Why Do Oral Sedation?
An estimated 100 Million (nearly 30%) people nationwide are in need of dental care but too fearful to seek you out. To date, access to care for these patients has been limited. Now you can help.
Practicing oral sedation has many advantages for you, not the least of which is treating a more comfortable patient. Other advantages are: performing more dentistry in a single visit instead of having the patient come back again and again; bigger restorative cases from patients who were previously reluctant due to anxiety; and patients feeling little to no post-operative discomfort regardless of the procedure - resulting in more referrals.
And for your patients it means something else. A comfortable experience - often with no recollection of the visit or the time passed. I often hear of patients who call their dentist the next day not to complain, but to express their gratitude and delight in their first ever visit to the dentist without fear.
