In short: send a booking enquiry or phone to talk through dates, the setting and the kinds of treatment. Patient details are shared afterwards through a secure channel agreed with you, never through the website. Before the day, the anaesthetist speaks with every patient about their health, consent and the anaesthetic fee. Anaesthesia inside a Victorian dental practice is delivered through a mobile anaesthetic service, which the state's Department of Health regulates.
How a session is arranged
- Booking enquiry. You tell us the practice, where it is, the days you have in mind, the setting and roughly how many patients. No patient information at this stage.
- Planning conversation. We discuss the treatment planned, likely durations, the level of sedation or anaesthesia, your room and recovery arrangements, and who in your team will do what.
- Facility review before a first session. The treatment room, equipment, recovery area and emergency arrangements are checked against the relevant ANZCA documents and Victorian requirements.
- Patient referrals. You send each patient's details and history through the secure method we agree. Patients who would be better treated in hospital are identified early.
- Pre-anaesthetic assessment. The anaesthetist contacts each patient, or their parent or guardian, before the day to review their health, explain the plan, risks and alternatives, and discuss the anaesthetic fee. ANZCA's consent position statement treats financial implications as part of consent.
- The session. You concentrate on the dentistry. The anaesthetist is responsible for the sedation or anaesthetic, monitoring, recovery and the decision that each patient is fit to leave with a responsible adult.
- Afterwards. Anything relevant to the anaesthetic is communicated to you and, where appropriate, the patient's GP.
Regulation in Victoria
Victoria’s Department of Health registers health service establishments. A mobile health service needs an approval in principle from the Department before it starts. Two Department documents are worth reading before a first session: its page on mobile anaesthetic services, which includes a template agreement between the service and the practice, and its information sheet for dentists. The arrangements that apply to your practice are confirmed in writing before a first session.
Two Australian Dental Association policies are also relevant: general anaesthesia in dentistry, which says the anaesthetic must come from a suitably qualified, registered practitioner and follow ANZCA guidance and state law, and conscious sedation in dentistry, which covers sedation provided by dentists.
What your practice needs in place
The detail depends on the level of sedation or anaesthesia and is agreed before a first session. The relevant standards are ANZCA’s professional documents, chiefly PS55 on minimum facilities, PG18 on monitoring and PG09(G) on procedural sedation. Expect to discuss:
The room
- space around the chair for the anaesthetist, monitoring equipment and an emergency response
- a chair that can be reclined flat quickly
- lighting and power outlets for equipment
- a clear route to the street for a stretcher and ambulance crew.
Equipment
- oxygen supply and suction, with backups
- patient monitoring appropriate to the level of sedation or anaesthesia
- resuscitation equipment and emergency medicines, checked and in date
- which items the anaesthetist brings and which the practice provides.
Recovery
- a recovery space where patients can be observed until they meet discharge criteria
- a member of staff trained to care for recovering patients
- a process for handing each patient and their written instructions to their responsible adult.
People and systems
- clear roles for the dentist, dental assistants and recovery staff on the day
- an emergency plan, including when and how to call for transfer to hospital
- records of sedation and anaesthesia kept with the patient’s notes
- the practice’s own consent process for the dental treatment, alongside the anaesthetic consent.
Choosing which patients to refer
A practice with the right set-up can look after many patients. For others, a day surgery or hospital is the more appropriate place. Please flag these factors when you refer, so they can be considered before a date is booked:
| Factor | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Significant heart, lung, kidney or liver disease | May need hospital-level monitoring or backup. |
| Obstructive sleep apnoea, heavy snoring, high body weight | Airway and breathing are harder to manage during sedation and recovery. |
| Previous difficult anaesthetic or airway, or family history of anaesthetic reactions | Changes the plan and the setting. |
| Insulin-treated diabetes | Fasting needs a specific plan. |
| GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines | ANZCA publishes specific peri-procedural recommendations. |
| Anticoagulant or antiplatelet medicines | Bleeding risk, and a plan from the prescriber may be needed. |
| Pregnancy | Timing and setting need individual discussion. |
| Young children, or complex disability or behavioural needs | May need a children’s or hospital setting and extra support. |
| Recent respiratory infection | May mean postponing. |
| Needs a professional interpreter | Consent must be properly informed. |
None of these automatically excludes a patient. They help the anaesthetist decide on the right level and setting.
Making a booking enquiry
Have these ready: the practice name and suburb, a contact person, the days or dates you have in mind, the setting, the approximate number of patients and the types of treatment. Then send a practice booking enquiry or phone.
Never send patient information through the website
Do not include patient names, dates of birth, Medicare numbers, photographs, radiographs or clinical notes in the booking form or in an ordinary email. When a session is confirmed, we set up a secure route for referrals with you.
Information you can share with patients
You are welcome to direct patients to this guide, in particular preparing for dental sedation, after your procedure and, for parents, a child’s dental general anaesthetic. Printable handouts will be added after clinical review.
About the visiting anaesthetist
Dr Walid Aly is a Specialist Anaesthetist (FANZCA) with specialist registration in anaesthesia, working in Victoria. His 2024 CV records that he founded The Australian Dental Anaesthetic Group. Read more about Dr Aly.
Sources
- Victorian Department of Health. Mobile anaesthetic services (approval in principle for a mobile health service). Updated 12 Jun 2026.
- Victorian Department of Health. Information for dentists and interventional radiologists using mobile anaesthesia. 13 May 2019.
- ANZCA. Professional documents (including PS55 minimum facilities and PG18 monitoring during anaesthesia). Accessed 2 Nov 2026.
- ANZCA. PG09(G) Guideline on procedural sedation (sections 3, 5, 7.5, 9.3, 9.4, 13.4; Appendix III; Appendix V glossary). December 2023; links reviewed July 2025.
- ANZCA. PS26(A) Position statement on informed consent for anaesthesia or sedation. April 2021.
- Australian Dental Association. Policy Statement 6.32: General anaesthesia in dentistry. June 2025.
- Australian Dental Association. Policy Statement 6.17: Conscious sedation in dentistry. Amended 24 Apr 2026.
- ANZCA. GLP-1 receptor agonists: clinical practice recommendations (with patient information sheet). Recommendations April 2025; page modified 22 Oct 2026.
- Written by
- Altitude Creative, on behalf of Dr Walid Aly
- Clinical reviewer
- In progress
- Review date
- Clinical review in progress
- Next review due
- Set at clinical review
How this guide is written, reviewed and corrected: editorial policy.
In an emergency, call 000. This information is general and does not replace advice from your treating practitioner.