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Oral health professionals who wish to provide deep sedation and/or general anesthesia services in their facility must first undergo review and receive confirmation of compliance from BCCOHP. Oral health professionals and the non-hospital based facilities in which they operate must be in full compliance with the Sedation and General Anesthesia Standards and Guidelines. Oral health professionals that have not been confirmed to be in compliance with deep sedation and/or general anesthesia standards are not permitted to provide such services in non-hospital facilities.
Note: Facility owners who engage physicians for sedation and/or GA services in their facilities, please refer here for information regarding CPSBC requirements for physicians working in non-hospital dental based dental facilities.
Oral health professionals who wish to provide moderate sedation services in their facility must complete compliance assessments and receive confirmation of compliance from BCCOHP.
Only one completed assessment is required per facility. Moderate sedation facility owners complete one initial assessment and do not need to submit another assessment. You will be notified when subsequent assessments are required.
Mandatory in-office assessments will be starting in fall 2025. Phase one began in April 2022 with the assessment process for moderate sedation facilities in the form of a required compliance assessment (formerly known as self-assessment).
While assessment is ongoing, oral health professionals may provide moderate sedation services as long as they are in full compliance with the Minimal and Moderate Sedation Standards & Guidelines and related sedation updates, unless directed otherwise.
We ask facility owners who withdraw from moderate sedation, deep sedation and/or general anesthesia services to inform BCCOHP within seven business days of doing so. The withdrawal form is available here >>
If you are a new sedation facility owner, or if you have questions, please get in touch using our contact form.
Oral health professionals are required to complete compliance assessments and receive confirmation of full compliance every year, except years when in-office assessments take place.
Sedation & General Anesthesia Compliance Assessment
Oral health professionals who wish to provide deep sedation and/or general anesthesia services in their facility must undergo review and receive confirmation of compliance from BCCOHP.
Facility owners that have not been confirmed to be in compliance with deep sedation and/or general anesthesia standards are not permitted to provide these services in non-hospital facilities. Oral health professionals must be in full compliance with the Sedation and General Anesthesia Standards and Guidelines.
Typically, in-office assessments for facilities that provide deep sedation and/or general anesthesia services take place every three years. In cases where facility ownership changes, or sedation operatory or recovery areas are renovated, or facilities are relocated, early assessments may take place.
Facility owners and the facilities in which they operate are assessed with the current Minimal and Moderate Sedation Standards & Guidelines and related updates.
While assessments are ongoing, oral health professionals may continue moderate sedation services as long as they are in full compliance with Minimal and Moderate Sedation Standards & Guidelines and related updates, unless directed otherwise.
BCCOHP will be contacting moderate sedation facilities to schedule in-office assessments.
Generally, the assessments will consist of two on-site visits by the following professionals:
A third assessment will be done by a physician, if applicable.
When scheduling your assessments, please note that there can be no patients in sedation and recovery operatories.
In accordance with Schedule A, the fee for the moderate sedation in-office assessment is $2,500.
On the day of your assessment, please ensure that:
It is strongly recommended that both the facility owner and the sedation provider be present on the day of the assessment. If that is not possible, someone who is thoroughly familiar with the facility and its operations must be present, and the facility owner must be available by phone in case any questions arise.
For facilities that are supported by mobile anesthesia providers, facility owners are responsible to ensure all moderate sedation-related equipment, supplies, and drugs are present for assessment.
Once your in-office assessments are completed, assessors will finalize their reports and submit them to BCCOHP for review. The reports will then be shared with facility owners. Proof of rectification is required for all identified deficiencies (if any); owners may also provide comments and considerations.
When all identified deficiencies are rectified, the reports will be reviewed by the Sedation & General Anesthesia Committee. If additional information is required, BCCOHP will contact the facility owner.
Once the Sedation & General Anesthesia Committee has confirmed full compliance, the facility owner will receive a confirmation letter and wall certificate. The facility will also be displayed on BCCOHP’s Sedation and General Anesthesia Map* on our website.
*Note: only moderate sedation, deep sedation, and general anesthesia facilities that have completed in-office assessments and confirmed for full compliance by the Sedation & General Anesthesia Committee are displayed.
The cycle will continue to repeat every five years as long as the facility offers moderate sedation services.