GA safe for dental treatment of children with special health care needs: Study

The researchers selected 111 clinical records and the study population was divided into three age groups. The quantitative data was specified as the mean ± SD. For the qualitative variables, the Chi-Square test was used. One-way ANOVA and Bonferroni tests were used to examine the effect of the "age group" and the number of treatment procedures.

The results of the study are as follows:

· A total of 1473 treatment procedures were performed, of which 110 (7.5%) were cleanings, 898 (61%) were restorative procedures, 332 (21.7%) were extractions, 22 (1.6%) were endodontic treatments, 62 (4.2%) were pulpotomies, and 59 (4%) were stainless steel crowns.

· Regarding the mean number of incisor root canal treatments (RCT), age group 3 received a significantly higher mean number of incisor root canal treatments (RCTs) than age group 1 (p = 0.02).

· Age group 1 received a higher average of pulpotomies and stainless steel crowns (p = 0.00) compared to groups 2 and 3.

Thus, the researchers concluded that general anaesthesia (GA) is a safe procedure for the dental treatment of children with special health care needs (CSHCN), with minimal postoperative complications, which should be included in dental public programs.

Reference:

A study titled, "Dental Treatments under General Anesthesia on Children with Special Health Care Needs Enrolled in the Spanish Dental Care Program" by Pecci-Lloret M et. al published in the journal of clinical medicine.

https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10020182