SEDATION IN PRIMARY DENTAL-CARE - AN INVESTIGATION IN 2 DISTRICTS OF NORTHERN ENGLAND

Objective To determine the current provision of sedation in primary de ntal care and investigate the knowledge and attitudes of dental practi tioners and others on the use of sedation. Design Qualitative intervie ws and postal questionnaire survey. Setting Health districts of Bradfo rd (West Yorkshire) and South Durham, UK in 1996. Subjects and Materia ls 15 key individuals associated with NHS primary dental services were interviewed. Questionnaires were sent to all 260 NHS general dental p ractitioners and community dental service clinicians. Results 208 ques tionnaires (80%) were returned. 42% of respondents reported current se dation use, with oral administration the favoured technique (26%). Sig nificant differences were found between districts for intravenous seda tion use (7% Bradford, 41% South Durham, P < 0.001). Almost all partic ipants agreed the value of sedation in dental care for adults and chil dren, for nervous, phobic patients or in association with unpleasant f orms of treatment and 45% of dentists felt that provision should be ex panded. Training, availability of referral services, finance and patie nt demand were seen as encouraging factors. Conclusions Substantial va riations in sedation provision between the two districts were associat ed with teaching at the nearest dental schools, innovative use of reso urces could help the expansion of provision supported in this study.