Seattle, USA – The more than 20 million Americans who have overcome their fear and anxiety related to seeing a dentist will be the focus of the 8th Annual Sedation Safety Week (SSW), hosted by DOCS Education.
Dr. Michael Silverman, Founder, Sedation Safety Week (PRNewsFoto/DOCS Education)
The series of SSW programmes, which coincide with the annual switch to daylight savings time (DST), will mark the official launch of “The Year of the Sedation Dentistry Patient” – a celebration of the advances that have occurred in helping millions of patients to overcome their hesitancy and receive safe, pain-free, dental treatments.
It is estimated that more than 92 million Americans are fearful of visiting the dentist. Historically, many of those people postponed appointments until their pain and discomfort became overwhelming, compromising their quality of life and putting their overall health at risk.
“We want to use this year’s Sedation Safety Week to salute the large community of men and women who – thanks to the dedicated general dentists who provide sedation dentistry – have transformed their smiles and their oral health despite their original fears,” says Dr. Michael Silverman, founder and national chairman of SSW.
SSW will take place against the backdrop of proposed changes to the American Dental Association’s guidelines that cover the use of oral sedatives by general dentists.
As such, the 8th Annual SSW will also emphasise the need to rely strictly on credible science and evidence-based research studies to determine the best ways to provide for the health, comfort and safety of all sedation patients.
“Patient safety is, was and will always be Job #1 for sedation dentists and their team members,” says Dr. Silverman, a globally recognised lecturer, educator and patients’ rights advocate. “Each year, we present Sedation Safety Week to reinforce our profession’s commitment to the safety and well-being of our patients.”
SSW programmes and activities are always free and open to all oral health professionals.
SSW is hosted by DOCS Education, the world’s leading educator of sedation dentists. Dr. Silverman is president and co-founder of DOCS Education.
