Articles: dentistry.
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Nitrous oxide and oxygen is widely used for conscious sedation in dental offices. It can have benefits for patients who experience dental anxiety or are medically compromised and gain from the oxygen enrichment and stress reduction. ⋯ Chronic occupational exposure to low levels of nitrous oxide has several reproductive and health risks. Reducing the ambient concentrations is important.
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We performed a questionnaire survey to establish the current and intended practice of chair dental anaesthesia amongst recently appointed consultants, and senior registrars within the Mersey Region. Only 26% of the consultants surveyed practised chair dental anaesthesia, however, more consultants would have had their anaesthetic sessions allowed. Consultants performed 4.62 +/- 3.5 sessions per month and anaesthetised 8.0 +/- 2.27 patients per session. ⋯ Sixty-eight per cent of senior registrars declared an interest in chair dental anaesthesia. This group had received significantly more training (p < 0.005) in dental anaesthesia than those with no interest. Most anaesthetists (52/71) felt that chair dental anaesthesia was acceptable in centres approved to Poswillo standards; 16 anaesthetists felt that it should be confined to a hospital environment and three felt that it should not be performed at all.