An RCT pilot study to test the effects of intravenous midazolam as a conscious sedation technique for anxious children requiring dental treatment — an alternative to general anaesthesia

Is intravenous conscious sedation for surgical orthodontics in children a viable alternative to general anaesthesia? – a case review

“…This compares well with other published work. [7][8][9][10] There were no cases of disinhibition, often cited as a reason for not providing IVCS in under 16 year olds. [15][16][17] No signifi cant problems were noted by the patients or their parents at follow-up.…”

“…[7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Recent research into the use of IVCS in children has shown it to be a safe and effective technique in 12-16 year olds. [7][8][9][10] This is demonstrated well in the randomised controlled clinical trial carried out by Wilson et al 8 who compared the use of IVCS with midazolam against inhalational sedation for orthodontic extractions in 12-16 year olds. As well as demonstrating the technique's effi cacy, it also highlighted the inherent amnesic effects of midazolam which is obviously a bonus for this particular group of patients.…”

Effectiveness and acceptability of intravenous sedation in child and adolescent dental patients: report of a case series at King's College Hospital, London

“…In these studies an anaesthetist was involved in providing sedation. 11,12 Intravenous midazolam was also compared to nitrous oxide in a crossover study on dental treatment in children between 12 and 16 years old. The authors concluded that IV midazolam appeared to be as effective as nitrous oxide, with 51% of children preferring IV sedation.…”

What is the evidence for paediatric dental sedation?

“…In the majority of studies it was assumed that all subjects completed the treatment regimen. Seven studies did explicitly state that there were drop outs [28][29][30]5,31,32,27 with reasons given being patient refusal.…”

“…Intention-to-treat analysis was used in only two studies, 28,29 one of these was a pilot to calculate a sample size for the other. 29 There were no sample size calculations given in any of the other studies.…”