While a significant amount of dental procedures can be done in an outpatient dental office under local anesthesia, there are numerous circumstances when the patient’s medical comorbidities require additional monitoring and deeper levels of sedation than can be provided in this setting. These may range in spectrum from mild anxiolysis performed by a dentist, to general anesthesia performed by an anesthesiologist. The content below offers an overview of human dental anatomy, dental notation, levels of sedation, common anxiolytics and anesthetic practices, guidelines for the management of dental anesthesia and potential adverse events.