Assessment of Oral Status in Pediatric Patients with Special Health Care Needs receiving Dental Rehabilitation Procedures under General Anesthesia: A Retrospective Analysis.

Abstract

Dental problems serve as additional burden on the children with special health care needs (CSHCN) because of additional hospitalization pressure, they face for the treatment of various serious medical problems. These patients have higher incidence of dental caries due to increased quantity of sugar involved in the drug therapies and lower salivary flow in the oral cavity. Such patients are difficult to treat with local anesthesia or inhaled sedatives. Single-sitting dental treatment is possible in these patients with general anesthesia. Therefore, we conducted this retrospective analysis of oral health status of CSHCN receiving various dental treatments in a given population. A total of 200 CSHCN of age 14 years or less reporting in the pediatric wing of the general hospital from 2005 to 2014 that underwent comprehensive dental treatment under general anesthesia were included in the study. Patients with history of any additional systemic illness, any malignancy, any known drug allergy, or previous history of any dental treatment were excluded from the study. Complete mouth rehabilitation was done in these patients under general anesthesia following standard protocols. Data regarding the patient's disability, type, duration, and severity of disability was collected and analyzed. All the results were analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Chi-square test, Student's t-test, and one-way analysis of variance were used to assess the level of significance. Statistically significant results were obtained while analyzing the subject's decayed missing filled/decayed extracted filled teeth indices divided based on age. Significant difference was observed only in cases where patients underwent complete crown placement even when divided based on type of disability. While analyzing the prevalence, statistically significant results were observed in patients when divided based on their age. In CSHCN, dental pathologies and caries indices are increased regardless of the type or extent of disability. Children with special health care needs should be given special oral health care, and regular dental checkup should be conducted as they are more prone to have dental problems.