Certified State of the Art General Anesthesia Facility
Our office is proud to be a NFPA 99 Certified General Anesthesia facility, ensuring that our patients receive the best anesthetic care in the hands of skilled practitioners. General anesthesia is an important part of our treatment options. When this level of sedation is required, you can rest assured that our facility uses the latest and safest methods available.
WHAT IS GENERAL ANESTHESIA?
General anesthesia is a pharmacologically induced state of unconsciousness administered by a trained anesthesia provider. While under general anesthesia, the patient is unconscious, must be continuously monitored, and may need physiologic support from the anesthesia provider. Outpatient sedation and general anesthesia have had a long history in dental offices. The founder of modern anesthesia, William T.G. Morton was a dentist. Despite advances in local anesthesia, many patients prefer sedation or general anesthesia during their procedure. More recently there has been an increased demand for anesthesia services in dental offices. While some patients do well with sedation, others may require deeper levels of anesthesia such as general anesthesia.
WHAT IS A NFPA 99 Category 1 CERTIFICATION?
NFPA 99 is an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) safety standard. ANSI develops many standards. For example, for safety reasons, lasers must meet ANSI standards. Similarly, NFPA 99 standards are minimal safety expectations of the equipment that is used when providing deep sedation and general anesthesia. Such standards are designed to prevent equipment failures that could potentially jeopardize someone’s life. NFPA 99 also ensures that equipment is installed properly. This is done by requiring certified medical gas installers (American Society of Safety Engineers or ASSE 6010) and is then verified by a third-party verifier (ASSE 6030). This helps prevent human errors in the installation and design process whenever building or modifying these systems.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT FOR DENTAL OFFICES TO BE NFPA 99 CATEGORY 1 COMPLIANT?
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) backs the NFPA 99 standard and is responsible for many such standards across various industries. This standard has been established to create a baseline expectation of safety practices in dental practices related to general anesthesia and deep sedation. Becoming NFPA 99 Category 1 compliant requires that equipment is up to modern standards, and is properly installed by gas installers certified by the American Society of Safety Engineers, and then inspected and approved by a third-party verifier. These stringent guidelines ensure that no errors are made in the design or installation of these systems and that they are safe for use on patients.
