Does relative analgesia with nitrous oxide reduce the number of general anaesthetic sessions and dental loss?

Abstract

Background: The use of general anaesthesia (GA) in dentistry is discouraged in all but essential cases. The use of sedation techniques, including relative analgesia (RA), is encouraged to reduce the demand for GA.

Aim: The research objective was to determine if RA reduces the number of GA administrations and teeth extracted.

Method: A service evaluation of the referrals for GA to the Community Dental Service South West of Cornwall over a period of two years and two months.

Results: The results showed that 88% of the referrals could be managed with RA rather than sedation. A total of 105 administrations of GA were avoided and 141 teeth restored which would have been extracted from the population of 118 patients.

Conclusions: The main conclusions drawn from this study are that RA is an effective alternative to GA and a number of teeth can be saved by opting, when appropriate, for this treatment option. It was also found that RA has a negligible morbidity rate.