Long-term outcome of oral health in uncooperative children with caries treated under general anesthesia

Abstract

Although uncooperative children with extensive caries can be treated under general anesthesia (GA), they remain at high-risk for caries recurrence. This study aimed to assess the long-term outcome of the dental health of uncooperative healthy children (HC) and special needs patients (SNP) treated under GA at least 2 years before this study. Data were collected via questionnaire and oral examination. Oral hygiene was assessed using the Hygiene Index, while caries were recorded using ICDAS II. The dmfs/DMFS score was calculated for every participant. A total of 69 patients completed the questionnaire, and 37 were clinically examined (HC = 15, SNP = 22). The mean (±SD-standard diviation) follow-up time was 5.5 (±2.55) years, the mean DMFS score for HC was 6.39 (±4.99), and the mean DMFS score for SNP was 12.95 (±12.29). The SNP group had significantly more filled surfaces on permanent teeth than the HC group (6.18 (±6.17) vs. 1.54 (±3.27), p = 0.004). In regard to primary teeth, HC had a higher dmfs, indicating a clear trend for more decayed surfaces in this group of participants (p = 0.08). The DMFS score was significantly higher in children who underwent GA more than 5 years ago. Oral health-related behavior was not improved as expected. Altogether, HC and SNP have poor oral hygiene and high caries risk in primary and permanent dentition, and their treatment remains challenging.