Morbidity and Mortality

Dentist Anesthesiologists work in isolated environments, typically by themselves, responsible for the safe administration of sedation or anesthesia for patients who are relying on them to provide an anesthetic that will ensure their desired level of comfort as well as protect their well-being. On its surface, this is a tremendous and significant responsibility for the Dentist Anesthesiologist, and yet, they do it every day in a dedicated, committed, and steadfast manner. Often alone making decisions for the patient as well as for the procedure being performed, there are events that occur that require attention either emergently or to prevent an adverse event from ever occurring. Decisions require high level thinking done quickly, accurately and appropriately. While the vast majority of these tense moments during treatment are resolved, sometimes they are not and the situation becomes worse. Bad outcomes happen though how do we respond to them? Near misses happen and how do we respond to them? We also often reflect on the event that was managed and consider what could&39;ve been done differently? M&M conferences were designed to help respond to these questions, allowing for input from colleagues in a supportive manner with the intent to improve patient care. This is the intent of this program and, hopefully, many more to come. We hope any Dentist Anesthesiologist currently practicing will join this program to share with and support your colleagues to improve patient care outcomes.

Learning Objectives:
- Understand the decision-making challenges of administering anesthesia in the dental office or clinic setting.
- Understand the difficulties involved with obtaining a thorough, complete, and accurate health history for patients.
- Understand the limited resources available in the physical location and the staff present when administering office-based anesthesia.