Buying a sedation package?
Your working Cost of Ownership
The purchase price is only part of the picture. This page uses realistic working assumptions to break down cylinder rental, gas, annual servicing and consumables for our most popular packages — then lets you model your own return on investment based on how many sessions you expect to run. Adjust the estimates to match your practice.
The packages compared
Annual running costs (UK)
These are the typical costs of keeping a package in service, before gas and consumables per session. They are broadly the same for every package — running costs are driven by the cylinders, the stand and the scavenger, not the flowmeter. The purchase price is where the packages differ, and that shows in the margin and break-even figures.
Cylinder rental
≈ £672 /yr
4 × on the machine (2 O₂ + 2 N₂O) plus the usual 3 spare set (1 N₂O + 2 O₂) — 7 in total, at around £8 a month each. Rental rates based on BOC UK
Annual service & safety check
≈ £458 /yr
Flowmeter service at R A's quoted rate (£205) + 4 cylinder stand (£65) + MiniScav on its alternating programme — £90 year one, £285 year two, averaging £188 a year
Gas & consumables
≈ £13.71 /session
Continuous-flow packages (MDM, Midas, Digital Ultra)
Nitronox: ≈ £7.43 /session at its fixed 2 L/min demand rate
Changes with the gas sliders below — not part of the fixed annual total
Typical fixed annual total
≈ £1,130 /yr
Broadly the same for all packages
Return on investment calculator
Move the sliders to match your practice. The calculator assumes 44 working weeks a year and includes all the fixed running costs above.
176 sessions over 44 working weeks a year
Published UK private fees (Sep 2026): £165–£400 per session, £250 typical. NHS income is contract-specific — Scotland SDR pays £122.70 per sedation episode.
Total fresh gas flow — about 6 L/min is typical for an adult. The Nitronox card ignores this: demand-flow is fixed at 2 L/min
Chair time under sedation (plus oxygen flush and recovery)
MDM + MiniScav
Capital cost £7,425 ex VAT
Margin per session
£229.88
£250 fee − £20.12 cost per session
cost = £6.42 fixed share + £9.71 gas + £4.00 consumables
Annual margin
£40,458
176 sessions a year
Year one net
£33,033
after paying for the equipment
Break-even: after about 33 sessions — roughly 0.2 years at 4 sessions/week. After that the equipment has paid for itself; a properly maintained unit has a working life of around 20 years.
Midas + MiniScav
Capital cost £8,190 ex VAT
Margin per session
£229.88
£250 fee − £20.12 cost per session
cost = £6.42 fixed share + £9.71 gas + £4.00 consumables
Annual margin
£40,458
176 sessions a year
Year one net
£32,268
after paying for the equipment
Break-even: after about 36 sessions — roughly 0.2 years at 4 sessions/week. After that the equipment has paid for itself; a properly maintained unit has a working life of around 20 years.
Nitronox Plus + MiniScav
Capital cost £7,425 ex VAT
Margin per session
£236.16
£250 fee − £13.84 cost per session
cost = £6.42 fixed share + £3.43 gas + £4.00 consumables
gas at demand-flow: fixed 2 L/min breathing rate
Annual margin
£41,564
176 sessions a year
Year one net
£34,139
after paying for the equipment
Break-even: after about 32 sessions — roughly 0.2 years at 4 sessions/week. After that the equipment has paid for itself; a properly maintained unit has a working life of around 20 years.
Digital Ultra + MiniScav
Capital cost £7,990 ex VAT
Margin per session
£229.88
£250 fee − £20.12 cost per session
cost = £6.42 fixed share + £9.71 gas + £4.00 consumables
Annual margin
£40,458
176 sessions a year
Year one net
£32,468
after paying for the equipment
Break-even: after about 35 sessions — roughly 0.2 years at 4 sessions/week. After that the equipment has paid for itself; a properly maintained unit has a working life of around 20 years.
“Cost per session (all-in)” spreads the fixed annual running costs across your session volume and adds gas and consumables — the purchase price is not in it; it is recovered in “year one net” and break-even, where the packages differ. Margin per session = your fee − that cost. Annual margin = margin per session × sessions. Break-even = package price ÷ margin per session; “year one” deducts the purchase price from the year’s margin. The model covers gas, cylinder rental, servicing and mask/hood consumables only — it does not include sterilisation costs (autoclave cycles, pouches, instrument wear), staffing, or clinical waste disposal, which vary by practice. Income presets are drawn from sedation fees published by UK dental practices, as published September 2026. NHS income varies by contract and commissioning route. All figures are UK prices and exclude VAT — costs in the Republic of Ireland are higher due to transport distance and overheads, so Irish practices should contact us for local pricing. All figures are estimates to help you budget — not financial advice.
How long will my cylinders last?
At your current settings — 6 L/min flow, a 40% N₂O / 60% O₂ mix for 45 minutes per session — here is roughly how many sessions one full E-size cylinder of each gas will cover before it needs exchanging. Practices swap cylinders on pressure, not session counts, but this is a good planning guide for how often deliveries land.
Nitrous oxide · N₂O · blue
6 sessions
per E-size cylinder — about 2 weeks of cover at 4 sessions/week
≈ 29 cylinders exchanged a year (44 working weeks)
Oxygen · O₂ · white
4 sessions
per E-size cylinder — about 1 week of cover at 4 sessions/week
≈ 44 cylinders exchanged a year (44 working weeks)
| Flow rate (L/min) | N₂O sessions per cylinder | O₂ sessions per cylinder |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 18 | 12 |
| 3 | 12 | 8 |
| 4 | 9 | 6 |
| 5 | 7 | 5 |
| 6 | 6 | 4 |
| 8 | 4 | 3 |
| 10 | 3 | 2 |
| 12 | 3 | 2 |
Based on 45-minute sessions at a 40% N₂O / 60% O₂ mix and 680 litres of usable gas per E-size cylinder. Actual endurance varies with breathing style, leaks, and your gas supplier’s fill pressure — N₂O is stored as a liquid, so cylinders drop pressure suddenly when nearly empty; plan swaps on the gauge, not the count.
Which mask does each package use?
The mask or nasal hood is the part patients notice, and the choice also decides what you buy every month. Each breathing system takes its own range, sized from paediatric through to large adult — the per-session consumable figure in the calculator is based on these.
Reusable — autoclavable
Porter Brown scavenger hood
Fits the Midas and Digital Ultra (Quantiflex / MXR flowmeters)
Coaxial scavenging hood: an outer hood plus three inner liners, adult and paediatric sizes. The hood and tubing are autoclaved between patients, so there is no single-use mask to buy — only the connectors and hoses renew periodically.
Included with the package — no per-patient mask cost
Single-use nasal hood
Accutron ClearView hoods
Popular fit for flowmeter circuits; scavenging circuit sold separately
Hood-in-hood design that minimises ambient nitrous oxide, with a clear outer hood so you can see the patient breathing through their nose. Paediatric, adult and large adult sizes, scented and unscented.
£80 per pack of 12 — about £6.70 per session
Single-use nasal mask
Accutron PIP / Silhouette masks
PIP fits Accutron scavenging circuits; Silhouette 2 uses 22mm fittings
Low-profile nasal masks with soft seals — the closest thing to "just a nose piece" for patients who feel closed off by a full hood. PIP in small, medium and large; Silhouette in four colour-coded sizes including paediatric.
£112 per 24 (PIP) / £90–£166 per pack (Silhouette) — about £4 per session
Single-use circuit — Nitronox
Nitronox disposable circuit, mask & mouthpiece
The demand-flow route: the Nitronox Plus package only — one set per patient
A single patient-use breathing tube (the pipework) that attaches to the demand valve, finished with either a full face mask or a plain mouthpiece — patients often prefer the mouthpiece as it feels less enclosed. Each set is disposed of after one patient.
Supplied and priced per practice — ask us for current circuit, mask and mouthpiece prices
Pack prices as published in our current price list. With reusable Porter hoods the calculator still counts a small consumables allowance per session to cover tubing, filters and liners — most practices run a mixed setup, and the calculator figure stays a fair all-in approximation either way.
Ready to get started?
Both packages are supplied with delivery, installation and commissioning included.