Dental therapists and dental hygienists

Then the SAAD online update course is for you!

Saturday 6 February 2027

6 hours sedation CPD.

The recording will be available until 12 March.

Click here for further information.

The SASH/T scheme fee includes:

• Approval of your supervisor(s)
• Written and practical assessments
• Portfolio for supervised cases
• Certificate of completion 
• Advice and support throughout

Stages of the SASH/T scheme:

• Registration for the SASH/T scheme, nomination of a clinical supervisor and payment of the course fee.
• Acceptance on to the SASH/T scheme and approval of the clinical supervisor
• Attendance of Theoretical Elements webinar & Practical Elements for the knowledge and skills training (the webinar must be attended or watched prior to the Practical Elements Course)
• Successful completion of the online assessment
• Completion of 10 IS cases under supervision (including 5 cases where the treatment was also provided)
• Submission of final portfolio to SAAD
• Internal moderation of documents by SAAD
• Satisfactory completion is confirmed and you become a SAAD Assessed Sedation Therapist/Hygienist able to provide sedation independently in accordance with the IACSD guidance

Successful practitioners will receive a SAAD certificate confirming ‘SAAD Assessed Sedation Therapist/Hygienist’ status which will enable you to practise independently.

Please note: SAAD provides knowledge and skills training in conscious sedation in compliance with current UK Standards (IACSD, 2020). We also offer the opportunity for course participants to gain supervised clinical experience through the SASH/T scheme. However, it is the responsibility of candidates from the Republic of Ireland (and other countries) to ensure that SAAD's training is acceptable to both the National and local authorities, where the candidate intends to practice. SAAD is unable to enter into negotiations of behalf of course participants or to identify appropriate supervisors.

 

You will need to nominate a supervisor to supervise your clinical experience. A suitable supervisor is someone who has a dental sedation qualification or is an experienced dental sedationist, and is providing dental sedation on a regular basis.

Potential SAAD supervisors must demonstrate their own relevant knowledge, skills and experience before supervising sedation new starters. Supervisors are expected to have completed a minimum of 50* cases of the technique being supervised, over the preceding two-year period or be able to evidence active involvement in sedation supervision or teaching.

*This number must not include any cases completed during the supervisor's own supervised clinical practice.

When you register for the SASH/T scheme you will need to be able to provide the following:

1. Name of proposed clinical supervisor(s)
2. GDC / GMC No. of proposed clinical supervisor(s)
3. Qualifications of proposed clinical supervisor(s)
4. Dental sedation experience of proposed clinical supervisor(s)
5. Sedation services offered by proposed clinical supervisor(s)
6. Address of the practice(s) where the clinical supervision will take place
7. A brief description of sedation facilities

It is possible to nominate more than one supervisor, and so complete your supervised experience at more than one location You can use the Supervisor Nomination Form to submit the details

Completed nomination forms must be sent to sasht@saad.org.uk

 10 inhalation sedations where you have not only administered the inhalation sedation but also been responsible for the care of the the patient from induction to discharge. Note that for at least 5 of those cases you must also have provided the dental treatment.

Once your written assessment has been moderated you will receive a link to the portfolio that you will need to complete during your supervised clinical experience. The portfolio consists of: 

• Log and DOPS form for each case
• Practice Checklist
• Document Submission Checklist (to be completed by your supervisor)

Your documents must be submitted for moderation within 12 months of attending the Practical Elements Course.

Once your documents have been moderated and approved you will receive a certificate to confirm that you have completed your sedation training in accordance with the IACSD Standards. This will mean that you can then provide sedation independently.

Click here for information about the venue, course times and the sample programme for the in-person element of the course

Queen Mary University of London (QMUL)

Mile End Road Campus

Attend a SAAD Course and be taught by the country’s most experienced dental sedation teachers!

The SAAD Teaching Faculty has oral surgeons, paediatric dentists, special care dentists, clinical psychologists, GDPs, dental nurses, peripatetic sedationists and resuscitation officers - all experienced teachers.

Click here to read more about our teachers.

Contact: sasht@saad.org.uk

‘Standards for Conscious Sedation in the Provision of Dental Care’ (2015, 2020)

Following publication of the IACSD standards in April 2015, dentists, doctors, dental hygienists/therapists and dental nurses who have no previous experience in conscious sedation for dentistry must now undertake appropriate training before commencing independent clinical practice.

All training programmes for ‘new starters’ must include supervised clinical experience and have external validation. UK university-based courses and those run by Postgraduate Deaneries are deemed to be compliant. Other courses leading to independent (i.e. unsupervised) practice, including those run by private providers, must be accredited by the Sedation Training and Accreditation Committee (STAC) of IACSD.

The IACSD standards state that practitioners offering supervised clinical experience in conscious sedation must now be accredited by a university, deanery or IACSD (p34, 86).

After attending one of the SAAD courses you will become a member of the SAAD Alumni.

Please see our Transfer, cancellation and refund policy

If there is an insufficient number of registrations we may have to cancel the course.