Dexmedetomidine: A Review of a Newer Sedative in Dentistry

Dexmedetomidine is a central alpha-2 agonist, similar to Clonidine, but 8 times more specific for the central alpha-2 receptor which causes sedation with minimal depression of respiration, making it safe for sedation during procedures. It is widely used in the field of medicine for many procedures especially premedication, awake intubation, and sedation of patients in intensive care units and pediatric procedural sedation. Objective: To do a systematic review of the pharmacology, pharmacodynamics, as well as the usage of newer sedative drug- Dexmedetomidine in dentistry. Study design: The search for articles was conducted in Pub Med, including the articles published in English until Oct 2014. Both animal and human studies were included using the key words, "Dexmedetomidine", "Dexmedetomidine in sedation", "Dexmedetomidine in Dentistry", and "Dexmedetomidine in Pediatric dentistry". The Articles obtained were checked for their quality methodology and inference of the studies and selected for review. Results: Initial search retrieved 2436 articles, out of which 44 articles were on the subject of Dexmedetomidine in dentistry. Five of which articles were on the usage of Dexmedetomidine in pediatric dentistry. These studies were included in systematic review. Conclusion: The study revealed that Dexmedetomidine being a new drug with its added advantages makes a better choice for sedation in dentistry. But with limited studies on Dexmedetomidine, the recommendation to use the drug exclusively is still under debate.