J Dent Anesth Pain Med.  2018 Apr;18(2):71-78. 10.17245/jdapm.2018.18.2.71.

Complications caused by nitrous oxide in dental sedation

• Chi SI

• KMID: 2410139
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.17245/jdapm.2018.18.2.71

Abstract

The first clinical application of nitrous oxide (Nâ‚‚O) was in 1844, by an American dentist named Horace Wells who used it to control pain during tooth extraction. Since then, Nâ‚‚O has shared a 170-year history with modern dental anesthesia. Nâ‚‚O, an odorless and colorless gas, is very appealing as a sedative owing to its anxiolytic, analgesic, and amnestic properties, rapid onset and recovery, and, in particular, needle-free application. Numerous studies have reported that Nâ‚‚O can be used safely and effectively as a procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) agent. However, Nâ‚‚O can lead to the irreversible inactivation of vitamin B12, which is essential for humans; although rare, this can be fatal in some patients.

Keyword

Conscious Sedation; Nitrous Oxide; Vitamin B₁₂ Deficiency

MeSH Terms

Analgesia
Anesthesia, Dental
Conscious Sedation
Dentists
Humans
Nitrous Oxide*
Tooth Extraction
Vitamin B 12
Nitrous Oxide
Vitamin B 12

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