Long considered a necessary workplace hazard in dental facilities, nitrous gases have come under greater scrutiny by health officials around the world. While the attention may be new, the anesthetic itself is anything but. Nitrous oxide is among dentistry's most common aids, employed first in the nineteenth century. But effective as nitrous has proved as a short-term anesthetic for patients, it's the long-term exposure to dental staff that has experts worried. Among the earliest documented health effects were neurological and liver damage, likely due to the alteration of B12 uptake. More recently studies have linked nitrous to miscarriages and birth defects. And some research suggests women who are consistently in the presence of low-level nitrous may have trouble getting pregnant in the first place. So uniform is the worrisome documentation about nitrous exposure that organizations have been similarly united in their advisories. For example, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry urges a series of actions to limit exposure including the use of masks and scavenging systems. And government agencies have weighed in with guidelines. For example,the National Institute of Occupational Safety suggests 60 parts per million, and the number is 50 ppm from the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. Unfortunately, the widespread use of scavenging systems hasn't consistently produced a safer environment for dental staff. That's because there is no penalty attached to NOT observing any government regulations. And secondly, products rarely if ever indicate their degree of effectiveness. Just using a scavenging system, in other words, is no assurance it actually reduces gases to recommended levels. Two separate research studies have moved one product to the front of the line. SafeSedate both reduces the leakage of nitrous oxide and evacuates residual gas following inhalation. According to studies published by Purdue University and also the Journal of the American Dental Association, it does so to a significantly more effective degree than competing products (http://jada.ada.org/cgi/reprint/140/2/190.pdf.) A collateral benefit is the elimination of cumbersome gray hoses, a familiar but not especially welcome sight in most dental offices. Dentists who use SafeSedate praise the time-saving aspect of not having to wash and/or autoclave the hoses and the parts that accompany them. The masks are also convenient as they are unique to each patient. You can learn more about the mask or watch an instructional video here
