Safety and efficacy of remimazolam in sedation dentistry: a scoping review

This review aims to evaluate the safety of remimazolam for intravenous sedation during dental treatment and oral surgery. The protocol was registered in the Open Science Framework (registration DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/RFPSZ), and reporting followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Literature searches and screenings were conducted using PubMed and the Cochrane database, with additional records manually reviewed from various sources. The selected studies, published in English, investigated the safety of remimazolam for sedation in dental and oral surgery. An initial search identified 20 studies, of which five prospective studies met the inclusion criteria. All included studies used an initial bolus administration of remimazolam. Primary outcomes assessed were the sedation success rate, incidence of adverse effects, onset time, awakening time, recovery time, and postoperative side effects. This scoping review indicates that all studies validated the superiority of remimazolam over other sedatives for dental treatment and oral surgery. The development and research of innovative technologies to reduce dental pain and anxiety presents opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and improved patient care in dental practice. Future clinical studies should focus on determining the optimal timing for additional dosing and discontinuation when remimazolam is administered continuously.