• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.161-165
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• 2015

Long QT syndrome (LQTs) is a rare congenital disorder of the heart's electrical activity. Patients with LQTs are at increased risk of developing fatal ventricular arrhythmias. Elevated levels of sympathetic stimulation can exacerbate this risk. Successful behavior management is indispensable in the treatment of patients with LQTs. However, many drugs involved in pharmacologic behavior management are known to adversely affect the QT interval. Therefore, careful selection of a sedative drug is essential in avoiding such incidences. A 10-year-old boy with a known diagnosis of LQTs required restorative treatment due to dental caries at the permanent molar. He required sedation since treatment was painful and dental phobia can trigger sympathetic stimulation, creating a dangerous situation for patients with LQTs. Therefore, the treatment was performed over two sessions under moderate sedation involving propofol combined with nitrous oxide. Restorative treatment was successful without any complications under sedation with a target-controlled infusion (TCI) of propofol. There was no significant QT prolongation during pulpal treatment. Propofol TCI may be a good candidate for sedation in patients with LQTs.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.295-300
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• 2018

Background: Removal of the plate following Le Fort I osteotomy and BSSO (bilateral sagittal split osteotomy) is a common procedure. However, patients who undergo plate removal experience intense pain and discomfort. This study investigated the half-maximal effective concentration ($Ce_{50}$) of remifentanil in the prevention of plate removal pain under sedation using dexmedetomidine. Methods: The study evaluated 18 patients, between 18 and 35 years of age, scheduled for elective surgery. Remifentanil infusion was initiated after sedation using dexmedetomidine, and started at a dose of 1.5 ng/mL on the first patient via target-controlled infusion (TCI). Patients received a loading dose of $1.0{\mu}g/kg$ dexmedetomidine over 10 min, followed by a maintenance dose of $0.7{\mu}g/kg/h$. When the surgeon removed the plate, the patient Modified Observer's Assessment of Alertness/Sedation (MOAA/S) score was observed. Results: The Ce of remifentanil ranged from 0.9 to 2.1 ng/mL for the patients evaluated. The estimated effect-site concentrations of remifentanil associated with a 50% and 95% probability of reaching MOAA/S score of 3 were 1.28 and 2.51 ng/mL, respectively. Conclusion: Plate removal of maxilla can be successfully performed without any pain or adverse effects by using the optimal remifentanil effect-site concentration ($Ce_{50}$, 1.28 ng/mL; $Ce_{95}$, 2.51 ng/mL) combined with sedation using dexmedetomidine.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.195-196
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• 2018

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.123-133
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• 2023

Sedation methods for dental treatment are increasingly explored. Recently, ketofol, which is a combination of ketamine and propofol, has been increasingly used because the advantages and disadvantages of propofol and ketamine complement each other and increase their effectiveness. In this review, we discuss the pharmacology of ketamine and propofol, use of ketofol in various clinical situations, and differences in efficacy between ketofol and other sedatives.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.165-173
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• 2016

Dentists often sedate patients in order to reduce their dental phobia and stress during dental treatment. Sedatives are administered through various routes such as oral, inhalation, and intravenous routes. Intravenous administration has the advantage of rapid onset of action, predictable duration of action, and easy titration. Typically, midazolam, propofol or dexmedetomidine are used as intravenous sedatives. Administration of these sedatives via infusion by using a syringe pump is more effective and successful than infusing them as a bolus. However, during intravenous infusion of sedatives or opioids using a syringe pump, fatal accidents may occur due to the clinician's carelessness. To prevent such risks, smart syringe pumps have been introduced clinically. They allow clinicians to perform effective sedation by using a computer to control the dose of the drug being infused. To ensure patient safety, various alarm features along with a drug library, which provides drug information and prevents excessive infusion by limiting the dose, have been added to smart pumps. In addition, programmed infusion systems and target-controlled infusion systems have also been developed to enable effective administration of sedatives. Patient-controlled infusion, which allows a patient to control his/her level of sedation through self-infusion, has also been developed. Safer and more successful sedation may be achieved by fully utilizing these new features of the smart pump.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.19-35
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• 2024

Background: This study investigated a safe and effective bolus dose and lockout time for patient-controlled sedation (PCS) with dexmedetomidine for dental treatments. The depth of sedation, vital signs, and patient satisfaction were investigated to demonstrate safety. Methods: Thirty patients requiring dental scaling were enrolled and randomly divided into three groups based on bolus doses and lockout times: group 1 (low dose group, bolus dose 0.05 ㎍/kg, 1-minute lockout time), group 2 (middle dose group, 0.1 ㎍/kg, 1-minute), and group 3 (high dose group, 0.2 ㎍/kg, 3-minute) (n = 10 each). ECG, pulse, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, end-tidal CO₂, respiratory rate, and bispectral index scores (BIS) were measured and recorded. The study was conducted in two stages: the first involved sedation without dental treatment and the second included sedation with dental scaling. Patients were instructed to press the drug demand button every 10 s, and the process of falling asleep and waking up was repeated 1-5 times. In the second stage, during dental scaling, patients were instructed to press the drug demand button. Loss of responsiveness (LOR) was defined as failure to respond to auditory stimuli six times, determining sleep onset. Patient and dentist satisfaction were assessed before and after experimentation. Results: Thirty patients (22 males) participated in the study. Scaling was performed in 29 patients after excluding one who experienced dizziness during the first stage. The average number of drug administrations until first LOR was significantly lower in group 3 (2.8 times) than groups 1 and 2 (8.0 and 6.5 times, respectively). The time taken to reach the LOR showed no difference between groups. During the second stage, the average time required to reach the LOR during scaling was 583.4 seconds. The effect site concentrations (Ce) was significantly lower in group 1 than groups 2 and 3. In the participant survey on PCS, 8/10 in group 3 reported partial memory loss, whereas 17/20 in groups 1 and 2 recalled the procedure fully or partially. Conclusion: PCS with dexmedetomidine can provide a rapid onset of sedation, safe vital sign management, and minimal side effects, thus facilitating smooth dental sedation.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.455-462
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• 2002

Currently, the ages of the patients visiting dental hospital for dental care are becoming younger and the interest in the treatment for the handicapped and incapable of cooperation children increases. As a method for treatment of these patients, the sedation treatment is considered. A dental sedation using chloral hydrate and hydroxyzine of them were used widely and for a long time. In this study, the samples were consisted of incapable of cooperation or very young children required treatment of restoration under local anesthesia. Then, the vital signs were accessed in pediatric dental sedation using the combination of chloral hydrate and hydroxyzine. As a result of this study, the vital signs were little different in pediatric dental sedation using the combination of chloral hydrate and hydroxyzine. Simply, the respiration rate and pulse rate decreased according to sleeping of patients. Therefore, the sedation using the combination of chloral hydrate and hydroxyzine induced to appropriate sedation in incapable of cooperation or very young children with little effects of vital signs.

• Journal of The Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.27-33
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• 2010

The gag reflex is a physiologic reaction which safeguards the airway from foreign bodies. But, an exaggerated gag reflex can be a severe limitation to a patient's ability to accept dental care and for a clinician's ability to provide it. The overactive gag reflex can be due to psychological factors or physiological factors, or both. Psychological factors can include fear of loss of control and past traumatic experiences. A 58-year-old man, scheduled for extraction of left upper second molar, left lower second and third molar and implantation of left upper second molar, and left lower second molar had no specific underlying medical problems. He had exaggerated gag reflex. Dental treatment was successfully performed using intravenous sedation. Intravenous sedation with midazolam and propofol was a useful management technique for reflex control during dental treatment extended to the posterior regions in the oral cavity.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.67-71
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• 2016

Eisenmenger syndrome (ES) is characterized by pulmonary arterial hypertension and right-to-left shunting. The signs and symptoms of ES include cyanosis, shortness of breath, fatigue, hemoptysis, and sudden death. In patients with ES, it is important that the systemic and pulmonary circulations be properly distributed and maintained. General dental treatment is not known to be particularly dangerous. To control pain and anxiety, local anesthetics without epinephrine are usually recommended. However, in cases of difficulty of cooperation, general anesthesia for dental treatment makes the condition worse. In the present case, intravenous deep sedation with propofol and remifentanil was administered for behavioral management during dental treatment successfully.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.710-716
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• 1998

It is one of difficulties to control children who show definitely negative behavior in dental clinic. In such a case, the pharmacologic management has been used to provide quality care, minimize the extremes of disruptive behavior, promote a positive psychologic response to treatment and patient welfare and safety. Deep sedation can be defined as a controlled, pharmacologically-induced state of depressed consciousness from which the patient is not easily aroused which may be accompanied by a partial loss of protective reflexes. In this retrospective report, the sedation records of 200 pediatric dental patients of ASA Class I & II who were not successfully treated under conscious sedation were used for analysis. Most frequently used regimen of deep sedation was the co-medication of midazolam(0.3mg/kg), enflurane(1.0-2.0 vol%) and 50-70% $N_2O_2$. The average age and weight of the patients was 4.6 yr (S.D: 2.72) and 18.7kg(S.D: 6.35) respectively. The average operative time was 52 minutes and midazolam (0.1-0.2cc) was additionally administered intranasally to prolong the operative time as needed. The episodes of untoward side effects were reported during and/or after the procedure in 58 patients. Serious adverse reactions such as cyanosis or laryngospasm were even reported in 7 patients but without mortality. Deep sedation is a very effective way of completing the dental treatments for those who failed to respond well to the conscious sedation. This technique has many practical advantages over general anesthesia case but the demands for the rigid monitoring criteria limit its use in general practice setting. The continuous efforts to improve the safety of the medication and the technique are required for the benefits of the patients and parent.