A Retrospective Study of Paediatric Dental Patients Treated under General Anesthesia

Dental care under general anesthesia (DGA) was found to be a safe, efficient and effective quality treatment for children. Purpose: To describe the characteristics of child dental patients treated under DGA and describe the indications of the treatments and types of treatments provided. Method: The sample consisted of 40 patients treated under DGA at Department of Paediatric Dentistry of school and Hospital of Stomatology of Wuhan University between June 2011 and December 2012. Detailed information was collected from dental records. SPSS software package was used for statistical analysis. Results: The age of the patients ranged from 2.5 years to 24.1 years. Males were more common than females M:F 1.5:1 .The mental retardation patients accounted for (5%) of the sample. The most common indication was inability to cooperate and accept dental treatment under local anesthesia (95%). The treatments rendered included: caries restorations (37%), root canal treatments (34%), extractions (7%), fluoride application (6%), fissure sealants (6%), indirect pulp capping (5%), stainless steel crowns (4%), pulpotomies (0.8%) and labial frenectomy (0.1%). In the follow-up visit fillings were found to be lost in 3 patients, with 2 anterior teeth and one posterior tooth. Conclusion: Caries restoration and root canal treatments were the most common treatments provided. Preventive strategies should be targeted toward children to reduce the number of healthy children receiving treatment under general anesthesia. Clinical Significance: This study provides baseline information regarding the types of treatments for paediatric dental patients in Wuhan and it is hoped that the data from this study will be useful for other researchers.