Dentists Love Oral Conscious Sedation Dentistry

Survey Finds OCS a Top Priority among Dentists

In our most recent survey, we asked dentists if they offer their patients oral conscious sedation. Two out of three dentists reported that their dental practices offer OCS. A quarter of dentists don’t feel comfortable offering sedation. And 8% said that they wished they were able to offer OCS, but regulations in their state made it too difficult to implement in their practice.

When it comes to sedation, urban dentists are the most conservative, and rural dentists the most liberal. Rural dentists are most likely to offer sedation. In addition, urban dentists were most likely to wish they were able to offer oral conscious sedation.

Gender differences were minimal, but still significant. Female dentists were more likely to feel uncomfortable offering OCS than their male colleagues. In addition, male dentists are more likely to offer OCS at their practices.

“Oral conscious sedation is an excellent tool for the fearful patient that has not been to the dentist in years,” commented a New Jersey dentist. “The regulations are overly onerous. More rules and regulations won’t prevent irresponsible behavior–it will only prevent many competent practitioners from utilizing this modality,” complained a Maryland pediatric dentist. “I think the training provided by DOCS (Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation) is both adequate and excellent. I oppose the new regulations proposed by the ADA,” wrote a Michigan dentist.

Read the full oral conscious sedation survey results.