Bispectral Index monitoring for intravenous sedation in dentistry
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The value of bispectral index monitoring during intravenous conscious sedation for the dental care of adults with disability who have limited verbal or non-verbal communication
IRAS ID
293705
Contact name
Mili Doshi
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability Head of research
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Title -The value of bispectral index monitoring during intravenous conscious sedation for dental care of adults with disability who have limited verbal or non-verbal communication
The use and value of intravenous conscious sedation has been clearly established. Conscious sedation requires the maintenance of continuing verbal contact and response from the patient. Assessment by the dental surgeon of the level of consciousness throughout treatment is judged by objective (oxygen saturations, heart rate with pulse oximetry) and subjective (response to treatment, verbal communication) methods. For adults with disability verbal communication may not be possible. The bispectral (BIS) index monitor measures brain activity and is a representation of level of consciousness. This therefore provides an objective aid to assessing consciousness in individuals who do not possess effective verbal communication.
Background - The BIS monitor has been shown to be of value for the dental treatment of anxious adults but has not yet been evaluated for those with a disability. For patients with non-verbal communication the use of the BIS monitor may enhance the safety of sedation. In addition, for dental surgeons new to sedation, BIS monitoring may help support the subjective assessments of consciousness levels.
The study will be conducted in three centres The Royal Hospital for Neurodisability, East Surrey Hospital and Canterbury Health Centre. Eligible participants will be those who present with non-verbal means of communication and who require dental treatment under conscious sedation. Sedation and treatment will be conducted by clinicians who are specialists in Special Care Dentistry and experienced in the treatment of adults with disability. The researcher will monitor the BIS recordings compared against subjective judgements of the clinician. The study will last for a maximum of 2 years. The only variation in the standard clinical process will be the application to the patient of BIS sensor pads for monitoring.
REC name
London - Brighton & Sussex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/LO/0789
Date of REC Opinion
16 Nov 2021
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion