Children left petrified by the prospect of major dental surgery could be offered an alternative to general anaesthetic, the findings of a new study carried out on Teesside revealed today.

Specialists in working with nervous patients hope techniques tested at Queensway Anxiety Management Clinic, in Billingham, could help cut the number of young people admitted to hospital for procedures.

All dental general anaesthetics have been carried out in hospitals since the Government banned surgeries from performing them in January 2002, following a spate of patient deaths.

Clinical trials on more than 600 children with extreme denal problems have seen huge successes in the use of new sedation procedures and it is hoped the research could relieve pressure on hospitals.

The results, published in the September issue of the academic journal Anaesthesia, show that giving patients a combination of the midazolam sedative and measured amounts of two gases with a normal local anaesthetic provides a viable alternative.

Government-funded research conducted by the University of Newcastle upon Tyne at the Billingham clinic found the new procedure was successful in 93 per cent of cases.

Dr Paul Averley, principal dentist at the clinic, said: "Dentists are often suspicious about procedures that involve sedating children with intravenous agents like midazolam.

"However, we showed that it worked very effectively when combined with inhalation agents and we saw no adverse reactions.

"The children were treated by a highly trained team, which included a consultant anaesthetist, and they also had the benefit of shorter waiting times and treatment in familiar surroundings."

Patients, who had acute anxiety or problems too severe to be treated with local anaesthetic, reported that they felt no pain under the sedation. Though the children remained conscious throughout the procedures, they did not remember their treatment after it was completed.