Should Endodontic Residents Be Educated About IV‐Sedation? Endodontics Program Directors’ and Endodontists’ Perspectives

Abstract

The aims of the two studies reported here were to assess endodontic postgraduate program directors' educational efforts and attitudes related to educating residents about intravenous (IV) sedation (Study 1) and to assess endodontists' educational experiences and attitudes concerning IV-sedation (Study 2). Directors of all 56 U.S. endodontic residency programs and a sample of 2,173 endodontists in the U.S. were invited to participate in the surveys in 2016 and 2017; 31 directors completed the survey (response rate 55%), as did 616 endodontists (response rate 28.3%). Of the participating programs, 18 did not and 13 did offer IV-sedation education. Most directors of programs without this education agreed/strongly agreed that other programs in their institutions offered IV-sedation (83%) and that none of their faculty were trained to teach it (83%). Most directors of programs with this education were satisfied/very satisfied with their classroom-based education about IV-sedation (64%) and this education in general (54%). Directors of programs with IV-sedation education agreed more strongly than directors of programs without IV-sedation education that there is a need for IV-sedation in endodontics (on five-point scale with 1=disagree strongly: 4.08 vs. 3.39; p=0.05), that postgraduate programs should offer it (3.50 vs. 2.71; p=0.04), and that many patients inquire about it (2.75 vs.1.83; p=0.04). Most of the endodontists disagreed/disagreed strongly that they had received adequate training in IV-sedation in their postgraduate program (87%) and were not satisfied with their IV-sedation training (71%); half (51%) reported not feeling competent answering patients' questions about IV-sedation. While most of the endodontists were dissatisfied with their IV-sedation related postgraduate education, most of the program directors did not offer IV-sedation education in their programs. A discussion of the need to educate future endodontists about IV-sedation is needed.

Psycho‐social perspectives of nonsurgical versus surgical endodontic interventions in persistent endodontic disease

“…Studies have found that anxiolytic drugs provided before dental treatment can be effective in controlling fear and intra‐operative pain, with mild adverse effects encountered (Milgrom et al, 1994; Nutt et al, 2009). However, there is a low level of awareness amongst patients regarding options for sedation (Huh et al, 2015) and a lack of training amongst dentists on administration (Yehia et al, 2018). In a local context where patients are generally more hesitant to take medication, sedation for dental procedures is seldom utilized, with none of the patients in this study receiving pre‐medication prior to surgery.…”