Prominent Researcher Plans Pre-Convention Town Hall to Discuss Sedation Issues
One of the hot topics at this year's American Dental Association meeting will be sedation dentistry. One prominent dental health expert is hoping to educate members on the issue ahead of the meeting.
The American Dental Association (ADA) is scheduled to have its annual meeting in late October, but before that meeting occurs, a prominent dental researcher is planning to hold a
to address provider concerns about sedation dentistry. The teleconference will be hosted by Raymond A. Dionne, DDS, PhD, a dental educator and researcher who has published over 100 scientific manuscripts related to dental pain and pain control.
The dental Town Hall is scheduled for Oct. 10 at 8 pm Eastern. Dentists and their team members from anywhere in the United States are encouraged to attend the meeting, which will be 45 minutes long. Time will be allotted for questions from participants. Those who register but are unable to attend the live conference will have access to an audio replay of the entire teleconference after the meeting is held.
The meeting comes ahead of the ADA’s vote on the controversial
, which will occur at the annual ADA meeting. This resolution could change practice guidelines for use of sedation and general anesthesia by dentists, as well as the guidelines for teaching pain control and sedation to dentists and dental students.
As Dionne said in the
Compendium of Continuing Education in Dentistry
, the passage of Resolution 37 "may have far-reaching and unintended consequences." The new resolution could impact dentists, future dentists, and patients by limiting the ability of dental practitioners to administer sedation or general anesthesia. This could, in turn, discourage and prevent patients from seeking dental care for fear of pain during the treatment they would receive. Dionne noted in the article that, since the year 2000, more than 22,000 dentists have received training on providing oral conscious sedation to patients in outpatient clinical settings.
Dionne has argued that "if implemented, the proposed revisions of the [ADA] guidelines will not appreciably improve the safety of enteral sedation but may eventually limit the ability of general dentists to provide sedation services to patients who would otherwise avoid restorative and preventive dental procedures."
The ADA says it is committed to basing practice and educational guidelines on current evidence-based research. During the Town Hall meeting, Dionne plans to educate ADA delegates and general members of ADA on why he believes Resolution 37 does not meet evidence-based dentistry.
Registration is free and may be completed at:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdnrpBqoCWPZTC_7GALyCqX57WlcHSzMf2bin9zl5I4qDT6_Q/viewform
