Editorial policy

Purpose and audience

Each guide is written for a specific reader, such as an adult considering sedation, a parent whose child needs a general anaesthetic, or a dental practice planning a session, and answers the questions that reader is likely to have. The site goes deeper on dental sedation than Dr Aly’s main website, drwalidaly.com.au, which covers his broader practice, and links to it rather than repeating it.

Writing

Guides are researched and drafted by Altitude Creative’s health content team on Dr Aly’s behalf. AI writing tools may assist with drafting. A person checks every statement against the cited sources, and no patient information is ever entered into an AI tool.

Clinical review

Every guide is written from current Australian guidance and is reviewed by a qualified clinician. Each one displays its writer, the status of its clinical review (the reviewer and their qualifications once complete, or “In progress” until then), the dates of the last and next review, and the sources used. Some guides were published while their review was still under way, and show “Clinical review: in progress” until it is recorded. Reviews happen at least annually, and earlier if underlying guidance moves on, such as a new version of ANZCA’s sedation or fasting guidance.

Sources

Current Australian guidance comes first. In practice that means ANZCA (the anaesthesia college), the Dental Board of Australia and the Australian Dental Association, Victoria’s Department of Health and Better Health Channel, healthdirect, the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne and the Australian Society of Anaesthetists. Short quotations are attributed and linked; we do not reproduce professional documents.

What we never publish

Because health advertising in Australia is regulated by the National Law and Ahpra’s guidelines, Sleep Dental does not publish:

• testimonials, reviews, patient stories or endorsements of clinical skill
• claims that sedation or anaesthesia is painless, risk-free or guaranteed to give a particular result
• prices, discounts or offers
• brand names of prescription medicines
• comparisons that disparage other practitioners
• unverifiable numbers or claims about Dr Aly.

Statements about Dr Aly are drawn from the Ahpra public register. Anything taken from his April 2024 CV is introduced with the words “His 2024 CV records”.

Images

The site uses diagrams and brand graphics rather than photographs of patients or procedures. If illustrative images are added, they will never be presented as real patients, real procedures, real facilities or Dr Aly.

Independence and advertising

Sleep Dental carries no advertising or sponsored content and accepts no payment from companies for what it publishes. It is published by Dr Aly, who provides anaesthesia and sedation, and that relationship is stated on every page.

Corrections

Spotted an error or something out of date? Use the contact page. We recheck the point against current sources, fix it where needed and record the change in the page’s date.