Analysis of paediatric dentistry cases operated under general anaesthesia: is the number of operating rooms sufficient for dental general anaesthesia?

Abstract

Objective: Aim of this study is to analyse the characteristics of pediatric dentistry patients who were operated under general anesthesia (GA) and sedated, and the adequacy of the number of operating rooms. Material and Methods: The study examined the records of 218 paediatric patients who could not be operated under local anaesthesia (LA) in the Faculty of Dentistry and therefore needed general dental anaesthesia (DGA) for the dental treatments using nasotracheal intubation in the operating room of the Faculty of Medicine between January 2019 and December 2020. Demographic data of all patients, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) scores, type of anesthesia (general anesthesia, sedation), duration of anesthesia, types of surgery performed, additional diseases, syndromes and requested consultations were analysed. Results: The mean age of the study population was 5 (4–7) years. Among these patients, 106 (48.6%) were female and 112 (51.4%) were male. There were 161 patients (73.9%) who underwent DGA and were healthy with no additional health-related problems. Fifty-seven (26.1%) patients included in the study were children with comorbidities. Conclusion: The need for timely treatment of paediatric dentistry patients under GA or sedation is highly significant. It is recommended that the number of operating rooms allocated specifically for dentistry should be increased to improve the usability and accessibility of DGA services. Further comprehensive studies focusing on the accessibility of operating rooms for DGA are needed. Keywords: Paediatric dentistry patients, Dental diseases, Dental general anaesthesia, Operating Rooms, Anesthesia.