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This study provides trends in the discipline of dental anesthesiology. A questionnaire-based survey was sent to 338 members of the American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists to evaluate practice patterns. One focus of the study was modality of sedation/anesthesia used for dentistry in North America. Age, gender, years in practice, and geographic region of practice were also obtained. Data gathered from the returned questionnaires were entered into an Excel spreadsheet and then imported into JMP Statistical Discovery Software (v12.2 Pro) for descriptive analysis. A total of 112 surveys were completed electronically and 102 surveys were returned via post, for a total response rate of 63.3% (N = 214). Data from this survey suggested a wide variation of therapeutic practices among dentist anesthesiologists in North America. Of the surveyed dentist anesthesiologists, 58.7% (SE = 4.2%) practice as mobile providers, 32.2% (SE = 3.1%) provide care in an academic environment, and 27.7% (SE = 2.8%) function as operator/anesthetists. The majority of anesthesia is provided for pediatric dentistry (47.0%, SE = 4.2%), oral and maxillofacial surgery (18.5%, SE = 3.9%), and special needs (16.7%, SE = 3.6%). Open-airway (58.7%, SE = 5.5%) sedation/anesthesia was the preferred modality of delivery, compared with the use of advanced airway (41.3%, SE = 4.6%). The demographics show diverse practice patterns of dentist anesthesiologists in multiple regions of the continent. Despite concerns regarding specialty recognition, reimbursement difficulties, and competition from alternative anesthesia providers, the overall perceptions of dentist anesthesiologists and the future of the field seem largely favorable.

Keywords: Dental anesthesiology; Dentist anesthesiologists; American Society of Dentist Anesthesiologists
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Copyright: © 2018 by the American Dental Society of Anesthesiology
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Figure 1. 

Distribution of cases per week.


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Figure 2. 

Map of the United States with region breakdown.


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Figure 3. 

Comparison of dental anesthesiology levels of sedation/general anesthesia versus regions of practice.


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Figure 4. 

Comparison of dental anesthesiology airway management techniques versus regions of practice.


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Figure 5. 

Comparison of dental anesthesiology case types versus regions of practice.


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Figure 6. 

Comparison of dental anesthesiology practice types versus regions of practice.


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Figure 7. 

A. Personal perceptions from survey respondents' regarding dental anesthesiology. B. Respondents' perceptions of the general public view of dental anesthesiology. C. Respondents' perceptions of dental professionals' views of dental anesthesiology. D. Respondents' perceptions of demands for service in their region over the next 5 years. E. Respondents' perceptions of current demand for service in their region.


Contributor Notes

Address correspondence to Dr Andrew S. Young, Department of Dental Anesthesiology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 501 Terrace Street, G89 Salk Hall, Pittsburgh, PA 15261; asingyoung@gmail.com.
Received: Jul 25, 2016
Accepted: Dec 09, 2016