Many U.S. states revising dental sedation guidelines

As part of Sedation Safety Week, DOCS Education has released a comprehensive list of all the U.S. states and Canadian provinces that changed or updated dental sedation regulations since January 2010.

In the past 14 months, 14 states and provinces -- including Alberta, Oregon, Utah, Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Georgia -- amended their dental sedation regulations. Each regulation change brings the respective state or province more in line with the ADA guidelines, which were last revised in 2007.

"Many states changed their regulations within the last year because of the 2007 ADA guidelines, which most states follow in whole or in part," said John Bitting, regulatory counsel for DOCS Education. "Regulatory changes come very slowly, and that accounts for the three-year delay. "

Dental sedation guidelines for other states -- including Missouri, Texas, and Michigan -- are expected to change in the near future, he added.

"The number of states without oral sedation regulations is already dwindling," he said. "This February Kentucky and Utah both adopted new oral sedation regulations that became effective only five days apart."

Previously, these states didn't require a permit or training for oral sedation, Bitting noted.