Sedation Monitoring Role — ORE Part 1 MCQ

Correct answer: E — To monitor the patient's condition throughout treatment

**A is correct.** The second appropriate person has a patient-safety role: they must monitor the sedated patient throughout treatment, including the level of consciousness and clinical status, with instrumental monitoring appropriate to the technique. For sedation techniques other than nitrous oxide inhalation sedation, UK standards require pulse oximetry and non-invasive blood-pressure monitoring as a minimum. They may undertake only brief, interruptible ancillary tasks where this does not compromise observation of the patient. **B** is plausible because the DCP may provide limited assistance, but chairside assistance is not the principal role. **C**, **D** and **E** are ordinary practice duties that would distract from continuous patient monitoring and are therefore inappropriate as the main responsibility during active sedation.

Reference: Intercollegiate Advisory Committee for Sedation in Dentistry. Standards for Conscious Sedation in the Provision of Dental Care and Accreditation, section 2: Peri-operative care—Monitoring, March 2020. https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/-/media/Files/RCS/FDS/Publications/Standards-for-conscious-sedation-and-accreditation/Dental-sedation-report-v11-2020.pdf