Articles
Writing.
Notes on office-based dental anesthesia: what the guidelines require, how the regulations differ from state to state, and what changes when anesthesia moves out of the operating room and into the dental office.
Latest
-
What changed in the 2026 ADA sedation and anesthesia guidelines
The American Dental Association published revised guidelines in April 2026. Supplemental oxygen, baseline vitals, fasting, and emergency preparedness all changed. Pediatric guidance did not arrive. Here is what is different and what it means for an office.
About this writing
Why these pieces exist.
Office-based dental anesthesia is governed by a patchwork. National guidelines set the general standard, state boards set the permit requirements, and the two do not always say the same thing. Dentists, physicians, and families are frequently left to work out the difference for themselves.
These pieces are written to explain what a document actually requires, what changed and when, and where the gaps sit. They are descriptive rather than prescriptive, and they are sourced.
Written by Amir Rad, M.D., a board-certified physician anesthesiologist and an appointed General Anesthesia Evaluator for the Dental Board of California.