A survey of parents whose children had full-mouth rehabilitation under general anesthesia regarding subsequent preventative dental care

St. Joseph’s Lit. Review / 5-22-09

Dr. Dan Boboia

 

Title:

A survey of parents whose children had full-mouth rehabilitation under general anesthesia regarding subsequent preventative dental care

 

Authors:

Shehy, Evelyn et al.

 

Main purpose:

To evaluate by telephone interview the self-reported compliance of families with preventative dental care, including follow-up visits, for their children who had full-mouth rehabilitation under GA.

 

Methods and Materials:

77 patients who attended New England Medical center in Boston for dental treatment under GA were included in the survey.  Prior to GA preventive dental care and was given to parents and children.  Follow up was scheduled 1 week and 6 months after treatment.  44 of the 77 patients were interviewed by one investigator.  The remaining parents could not be contacted.  Data was collected from these 44 patient records.

 

Results:

• 30 males / 14 females
• Mean age was 4.5  years
• 24 patients had a history of nursing caries, 12 had behavioral management problems or patients requiring extensive treatment, and 8 patients were medically compromised

Dental Visits Following GA:

• 34 (77%) had regular 6-month dental appointments after GA
• 10 (23%) had not returned for a visit
• Whether the patient returned for recall was significantly related to the type of payment received (cash vs. Medicaid)
• 10 (23%) patients needed fillings or extractions since the GA procedure

Dietary Habits Since GA:

• 34 (77%) reported reducing the frequency of sugar consumption

• 10 (23%) reported no change

OH Practices Since GA:

• 30 (68%) Parents reported carrying out daily tooth brushing for their children

• 14 (32%) were allowed to brush their own teeth without help (unbelievable)

Discussion / Conclusions:

• Of the ten patients that required restorations or extractions at follow-up visits none required GA for treatment

• 77% of children surveyed returned for routine 6-month F/U
• More cash/insurance patients returned for routine recall visits than Medicaid (contrary to the findings to Enger who found no significant differences between these two groups in a previous study)
• 77% of parents reported reducing sugar consumption after treatment under GA
• 32% of the children were reported to brush teeth by themselves; it is generally accepted that preschool children lack the ability to brush their teeth adequately and that parental involvement is essential to improve efficiency
• 30% living in fluoridated areas used daily rinses or gels
• 21% of children surveyed used bottle and tap water for drinking purposes
• Caries risk patients identified from this study are patients who continued unfavorable eating patterns, had marginal fluoride exposure, and had unsupervised daily tooth brushing