Conscious Sedation for Dentistry (Taught)

If you are an experienced dentist looking to expand your clinical expertise, a qualification in conscious sedation should be top of your list.

On this 1-year part-time course, you'll gain the practical and theoretical knowledge you need to carry out conscious sedation in your practice, which is a highly sought-after dental skill.

You'll learn practical skills at the University of Portsmouth Dental Academy – a training provider accredited by the Sedation Training Accreditation Committee (STAC) – and at the clinical facilities of our partner provider, Solent NHS Trust Special Care Dental Services. Both training centres feature the latest specialist equipment to help you explore dental sedation techniques safely under expert supervision.

When you complete the course, you'll be able to offer conscious sedation as an alternative route to treatment for your dental patients, progress to a career in special care dentistry, or pursue further study in this specialised field.

Please note that you'll need to provide your NHS Performer Number as part of the application process.

What you'll experience
On this course, you'll:

• Learn how to provide safe and effective conscious sedation across many dental settings, including primary care, secondary care, and special care services

• Explore the practical and theoretical sides of a range of conscious sedation techniques

• Experience a mix of supervised clinical practice sessions, distance learning and face-to-face learning

• Be taught by expert clinical supervisors and guest lecturers with postgraduate qualifications in conscious sedation

• Use specialist sedation equipment at our STAC-accredited Dental Academy and Solent NHS Trust Special Care Dental Services

• Gain valuable skills applicable to many healthcare settings, including airway assessment and management, IV cannulation, patient monitoring, and recognition of complications

Careers and opportunities

Many patients are anxious or even phobic about receiving dental treatment.

Conscious sedation techniques, such as inhalation or intravenous therapies, enable these patients to get the treatment they need safely, with confidence and without the need for general anaesthesia.

Despite this, there are relatively few dentists qualified to carry out conscious sedation, making this a valuable skill to add to your clinical expertise.

Once you graduate, you'll be able to expand your practice to patients needing extra reassurance before treatment, or to pursue a career in special care dentistry.

You could also go on to further study at Master's, DClinDent or PhD level.

Year 1

Core modules in this year include:

Medical Sciences and Techniques Related to Conscious Sedation – 30 credits
Supervised Clinical Experience – 30 credits

There are no optional modules in this year.

You'll be assessed through:

short note questions
single best answer (SBA) papers
observation of procedural skills
records of experience
reflective logs
set exercises

You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.

You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.