Implementation of the IOSN within the Oral Surgery department
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Implementation of the Indicator of Sedation Need (IOSN) within the Oral Surgery department in Dundee Dental Hospital
IRAS ID
221805
Contact name
Alison Wright
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Dundee
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 18 days
Research summary
Patient anxiety has been identified as a barrier to accessing dental care and is often cited as the reason that patients fail to attend appointments. Anxiety can be improved through desensitisation, however this does not always work and some patients may require conscious sedation in order to undergo dental treatment.
The Indicator of Sedation Need (IOSN) is a recognised tool which is used in primary and secondary care. It was created in 2008 to support dentists in their decision making when considering how to treat patients. The IOSN consists of three parts: level of anxiety, medical history and treatment difficulty. A score is given for each part and the sum of the three scores relates to patient need for conscious sedation.
The study will involve distribution of the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) which is an anxiety questionnaire often used in dentistry to assess how patients cope with dental treatment. This will be given a rank score of 1-4. The medical history will be factored in and this can also be given a score of 1-4. Treatment difficulty will be graded and given a score of 1-4. The three scores are added to give an overall IOSN score.
The research is being undertaken to determine whether patients receiving treatment under intravenous sedation in the Oral Surgery department of Dundee Dental hospital and Broxden Dental Centre are appropriate for this treatment modality. It has been noted by Consultant Oral Surgeons leading the service that sedation is perhaps being over-prescribed and this is partly due to treatment planning being driven by patient demands rather than patient need. It is possible that a number of patients currently offered intravenous sedation do not meet the criteria listed within the IOSN.
The study is timely and appropriate as local sedation policies are currently being reviewed by senior staff.REC name
London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/0291
Date of REC Opinion
27 Feb 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion