Efficacy of Moderate Sedation for Dental Treatment of Young Children

Randomized Controlled Trial of Oral Sedatives for Moderate Sedation in Young Children

There is lack of clinical trials on pediatric dental sedation. The purpose of this study is to test (using a randomized controlled trial design) the hypothesis that young children behavior during dental treatment improves with oral midazolam sedation. A further aim of this study was is explore whether behavior also changes over sessions needed to dental treatment completion.

There is a lack of clinical trials on pediatric dental sedation in children 3 years old and under. We investigated whether young children's behavior improves during dental treatment with combined oral ketamine and midazolam compared to midazolam alone or no sedation. Healthy children under 36 months of age, presenting early childhood caries and referred to a pediatric dental sedation clinic were randomly assigned to receive combined midazolam (0.5 mg/kg) and ketamine (3 mg/kg) (MK), oral midazolam (1.0 mg/kg) (MS), or protective stabilization without sedative (PS). One observer scored children's behavior using the Ohio State University Behavior Rating Scale (OSUBRS) at determined points in a dental exam (no sedative) and treatment session. Data were analyzed using non-parametric bivariate tests.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy children (ASA PS 1)
• Children under 36 months old
• Children presenting early childhood caries
• Children with no history of dental treatment

Exclusion criteria:

• Lost to follow-up