Providing deep sedation and general anesthesia for patients with special needs in the dental office-based setting.

This article discusses the issues of morbidity and mortality associated with deep sedation and general anesthesia specifically in the dental office-based setting for patients with special needs (PSN). A focused review of a particular environment and patient population was challenging as it was difficult to identify articles that discuss the unique scope of this subject. During the review of the literature, no article was identified that discussed this exact topic. There were articles that discussed the delivery of general anesthesia for PSN in an outpatient setting and associated issues of morbidity and mortality. There were also articles and sources of information that discussed the delivery of general anesthesia for other patient populations in the office-based setting. In an effort to support the scope of this article, some of these articles are discussed as they pertain to the subject of this article. In addition, an analysis of the author's practice over a 4-year period is discussed in an effort to present relevant data per the scope of this article. After reviewing the literature and the author's clinical practice, it appears that the incidence of mortality for PSN in the dental office-based setting is minimal and the incidence of morbidity for this same population is limited to relatively minor events. Ultimately, it was concluded that the delivery of general anesthesia for PSN in the dental office-based setting can be considered a very safe and successful procedure.