Recently the use of sedation by pediatric dentists in Korea is increased. This study describes training programs about sedation practices in Korean pediatric dentistry residency program.

A questionnaire was filled in by participants of Korean Academy of Pediatric Dentistry on 17th-18th August, 2008. Also the data about sedation practices of the training institution is collected by phone call.

Seventy two percent of respondents used sedation. Most of them used sedation with agents under 25% of their patients. Distribution of ages in patients sedated with agents was 3 years, 4-5 years, under 2 years, 6-10 years, and more than 10 years. Determinative factors of using sedation were behavior management, number of visiting, amount of treatment and general condition, and oral route was the most favorable route. Sixty six percent of them have failed on sedation, and thity percent of them have rarely failed on sedation. Only fifty percent of dentists using sedation completed the cardiopulmonary resuscitation course.

For safety, dentists using sedation need to be educated about emergency equipment and management. Especially medication dose, use frequency and the detail related to treatment procedure should be discussed carefully. Also putting a patient under general anesthesia and taking emergency measures should be discussed with Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology.