Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine

The Korean Dental Society of Anesthsiology (대한치과마취과학회)
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Complications caused by nitrous oxide in dental sedation

  • Chi, Seong In (Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Dankook University Sejong Dental Hospital)
  • Received : 2018.04.04
  • Accepted : 2018.04.16
  • Published : 2018.04.30
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Abstract

The first clinical application of nitrous oxide ($N_2O$) was in 1844, by an American dentist named Horace Wells who used it to control pain during tooth extraction. Since then, $N_2O$ has shared a 170-year history with modern dental anesthesia. $N_2O$, an odorless and colorless gas, is very appealing as a sedative owing to its anxiolytic, analgesic, and amnestic properties, rapid onset and recovery, and, in particular, needle-free application. Numerous studies have reported that $N_2O$ can be used safely and effectively as a procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) agent. However, $N_2O$ can lead to the irreversible inactivation of vitamin B12, which is essential for humans; although rare, this can be fatal in some patients.

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References

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