While dental practitioners have less training in the administration of anesthesia than full-time providers, studies have shown that office-based dental anesthesia is as safe as traditional surgical anesthesia (1 death in 350,000 due to anesthesia administration).
Sources
A Comparison of Anesthesiologist Assistants and CRNAs. American Society of Anesthesiologists http://www.asahq.org/asarc/AA-CRNA_Comparison.pdf
Initial Certification. The American Board of Anesthesiology.2008 http://www.theaba.org/anesthesiology_initial_certification.shtml
Patient Education FAQ, American Society of Anesthesiologists http://www.asahq.org/patientEducation.htm
