Sedation Facility Permits and Inspections
Table of Contents
All dental facilities where dentists or physicians will be providing sedation above the minimal level must have a facility permit from the College and must comply with the Standard of Practice – Use of Sedation and General Anesthesia in Dental Practice (Standard of Practice).
Sedation facility permits are non-transferable. If the ownership of the dental facility changes, or the facility relocates, the facility permit will be cancelled effective on the date of sale/move.
The facility permit holder is responsible for reporting practice sales and/or relocations to the Facility Inspection Program at sedation@rcdso.org.
Types of Sedation Facility Permits
There are three types of sedation facility permits. The sedation equipment and emergency drugs that the facility must keep on-site is specific to the type of facility permit.
Each facility that maintains a current sedation facility permit must have all the required sedation equipment and drugs on-site at all times. Facilities cannot share sedation equipment and drugs with other facilities or with a visiting sedation providers’ sedation kit.
-
Type A Sedation Facility Permit
Type A facility permits are for facilities that are responsible for maintaining all of the required sedation equipment and emergency drugs on-site. These facilities also typically provide the sedation or anesthesia team members for the sedation practitioner.
There are three subtypes of Type A sedation facility permits:
- Type A – Oral Moderate Sedation
- Type A – Parenteral Conscious Sedation (1 drug)*
- Type A – Deep Sedation and General Anesthesia
The subtype of the Type A sedation facility permit corresponds to the highest level/modality of sedation administered at the dental facility.
* Parenteral Conscious Sedation (2 drug)
The College has been phasing out the parenteral conscious sedation (2 drug) option since the current Standard of Practice came into effect in 2018. The College is not issuing any new sedation facility permits or authorizations for parenteral conscious sedation (2 drug).
Facilities that employ dentists who hold authorization to administer parenteral conscious sedation (2 drugs) must have a sedation facility permit for deep sedation and/or general anesthesia.
-
Type B Sedation Facility Permit
Type B sedation facility permits are for facilities that have visiting sedation providers who bring all the sedation equipment and emergency drugs (visiting kit) with them to the facility when they administer sedation.
Type B sedation facility permits are not restricted to a specific level/modality of sedation. The level of sedation administered at Type B dental facilities will correspond to the level of sedation authorization held by the visiting provider.
-
Type AB Sedation Facility Permit
Type AB sedation facility permits are for facilities that employ a combination of non-visiting and visiting authorized sedation providers.
The sedation equipment and emergency drugs that the facility is required to maintain on-site corresponds to the subtype of the Type A aspect of the facility permit.
Example: A facility that employs non-visiting providers who routinely administer oral moderate sedation, but only occasionally requires providers to administer deep sedation and/or general anesthesia may choose to have a Type A – Oral Moderate/Type B facility permit. The facility will then be required to maintain the sedation equipment and drugs required for oral moderate sedation on-site at all times, and will bring in a visiting provider with their own equipment and drugs when they have a patient who requires deep sedation or general anesthesia.
Applying for a Facility Permit
Dentists must apply for sedation facility permits online through the RCDSO Portal. PDF applications will not be accepted after July 31, 2023.
The online application must be completed by the dentist who will be the sedation facility permit holder. The facility permit holder must be an owner or co-owner of the dental facility that will have the sedation facility permit.
The online application will ask the applicant dentist a series of eligibility questions intended to guide them to the appropriate type of sedation facility permit for their dental facility.
If you are unable to complete the application online, contact sedation@rcdso.org.
All sedation facility permits expire annually on March 31st regardless of when the dentist applies for and receives the sedation facility permit. Sedation facility permits must be renewed annually to remain valid.
Application Fees
All application fees collected by the College are non-refundable.
The application fee for Type A facility permits and Type B facility permits is $750.
There is no additional cost to add a Type B to an existing Type A facility permit or to a Type A facility permit application.
Application fees cannot be pro-rated or waived for applicants applying close to the renewal deadline of March 31st.
The annual renewal fee for sedation facility permits is $350.
Click here for more information on sedation renewal.
Processing times
The processing times for facility permit applications vary depending on the number of applications received by the College. Processing times are longer in March and April annually due to sedation annual renewal.
Inspections and Re-Inspections
Initial inspections
Before issuing a sedation facility permit, the College must inspect the dental facility to ensure that the facility is in compliance with the Standard of Practice and the Facility Inspection Program’s facility requirements. The sedation facility permit will only be issued if the facility is fully compliant with the Standard of Practice.
If the facility permit holder does not respond to requests to schedule an initial inspection then the facility permit application may be cancelled.
Re-inspections
The College conducts re-inspections every 36 months and tracks the re-inspection cycle for each dental facility. A College inspector will contact the facility permit holder to schedule the re-inspection around the time the facility is due for re-inspection.
If the facility permit holder does not respond to request to schedule a re-inspection, the Registrar may refuse to renew the sedation facility permit.
How to prepare for a facility inspection
- Facility inspections are conducted virtually via Zoom.
- We recommend the facility connect to the inspection using a laptop or mobile device that can be manipulated to show the inspector around the facility.
- The Inspector will need to see the room where sedation is administered, the recovery room and sedation equipment and emergency drugs.
- The person attending the inspection on behalf of the facility must be familiar with:
- All sedation/anesthesia delivery, monitoring and emergency equipment.
- Sedation/anesthesia and emergency drugs.
- Sedation/anesthesia and emergency protocols and procedures.
- Sedation/anesthesia team members and their roles.
- The person attending the inspection will need to show all equipment and emergency drugs to the inspector without assistance from the College Inspector.
- We strongly encourage the facility permit holder or a sedation provider to attend the inspection as they are more likely to be able to address questions and potential deficiencies than clinic staff.
- The College has created the following inspection checklists to assist the facility with preparing for the virtual inspection. The checklist identifies items that the Inspector may request be provided in advance of the inspection.
- The Inspector may request the facility permit holder send them some documentation to review in advance of the inspection. The facility inspection may be cancelled by the Inspector if the facility does not provide requested documentation in advance of the inspection.
- All documentation sent to the College or College Inspector must be in pdf format, legible and clearly organized and labeled to reflect the contents of the document (for example: vitals monitor maintenance 2021). The College may refuse documentation that does not meet these criteria.
- All email correspondence must include the Facility Permit Number in the subject line.