NFPA Journal - January/February 2018 - 83

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becomes a medical gas facility, not a
dental one," said Dan Shoemaker, a longtime Piping Systems committee member
with decades of experience in the dental
service industry. "You no longer have
patients who can just get up and walk
out like they can with nitrous oxide."
Much of the new chapter's success
will rely on understanding these different sedation levels, according to
Shoemaker. Nitrous oxide, for example,
doesn't induce deep sedation; administering pure oxygen after nitrous oxide
sedation allows patients to walk out of
the office and drive themselves home.
"This is such an important medication,
and it's very safe as long as you don't
have the gas lines crossed," he said.
More concerns arise as sedatives that
further depress consciousness come
into play. Shoemaker said one of the
"scariest" trends he's seeing is one
involving doctors, known as mobile
anesthesiologists, who wheel equipment into dental facilities that don't
have category 1 gas and vacuum systems in place and administer general
anesthesia. "All of this is in clear violation to NFPA 99," he said.
Gagne anticipates there might be
some reluctance to follow the new rules
among dentists who perform deep
sedation or general anesthesia because

of the potential cost of upgrading their
systems.
But in some ways, the chapter will
make it easier for dental facilities to
comply with the code. New language
has been added, for example, to distinguish dental air from medical air,
the former of which doesn't play a
role in life support and therefore

"The minute you
take somebody
across the line of
consciousness,
your entire office
becomes a medical
gas facility."

doesn't require as much scrutiny. "But
in some parts of the country, in the
past, officials tried to enforce the same
requirements for medical air on dental
air that wasn't being used in a medical way," said Shoemaker, who also

helped write the new chapter. "Now, it's
very clear that for dental air we don't
require the same level of verifying."
The American Dental Association
(ADA) also supports the new chapter,
and provided input during its creation.
"Prior to the creation of this dental-specific chapter, there was confusion
regarding the application of NFPA 99
requirements to dentistry," Dr. Dave
Preble, vice president of the ADA's
Practice Institute, said in a statement
provided to NFPA Journal. "In some
cases they were misapplied, and in
others they weren't used at all in dental
settings. The new chapter, when implemented properly, can help dentists
protect patients by preventing gas and
vacuum line malfunctions."
Those who will likely see the benefits
of the chapter first are the people who
install, maintain, and inspect dental
gas and vacuum systems, because they
no longer have to wonder where to look
to find information on dental facilities.
All of the confusion that previously
existed is gone, said Shoemaker, and
ultimately that should translate to
safer dental facilities for employees
and patients alike. "With clarity comes
safety," he said.
ANGELO VERZONI is staff writer for NFPA Journal.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - January/February 2018
