Are There Any Precautions for Nitrous- and Sedation-Related Equipment During COVID-19?
In six short months, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced a major rethink of how dentists run their practices. From patient screening to PPE and aerosol generation, every process and procedure is now being looked at through the lens of infection control. For many general dentists, such an extensive overhaul of practice has raised many questions. One such question concerns the use of nitrous oxide, and other equipment related to sedation.
In this edition of CDA Oasis Live, Dr. John O’Keefe, Director of Knowledge Networks CDA, talks to Dr. Joonyoung Ji, a dental anesthesia specialist from Ottawa, about the key risk factors in using nitrous oxide during COVID. Dr. Ji explains that, although considerations are not that much different from normal practice, a heightened sense of concern exists due to the COVID risk; and management of care ultimately comes down to the risk vs. reward probabilities. He outlines the key challenges involved in using sedation equipment and gives valuable tips on how dentists can keep risks to a minimum.
We hope you find the conversation useful. We welcome your thoughts, questions and/or suggestions about this post and other topics. Leave a comment in the box below or send us your feedback by email.
Until next time!
CDA Oasis Team
I was disappointed with this podcast. It does not talk about whether there is a need to sterilize the tubing for nitrous oxide which is what I am getting conflicting information.
It didn’t tell me anything more than what I already knew or give any out of the box suggestions. I spoke with an oral surgeon and he custom fitted his nitrous unit so that he can put an anesthesia filter in it. Unfortunately that filter is placed immediately distal to the tubing so the tubing still needs to be sterilized.
But most importantly, does the using truly need to be sterilized? Is there a time frame when you can leave the tubing to reuse without sterilizing? That is, manufacturing does not recommend sterilizing tubing in many units so if you just have several tubings available, perhaps change tubing to allow for fallow time?