Reasons for referral of children to a general anaesthetic service in Northern Ireland.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate, in a case-specific manner, dental practitioners' clinical and social reasons for referral of children for dental extractions under general anaesthesia and to relate these to separately obtained information.


METHODS
For each child referred to the community general anaesthetic dental extraction service, closed-ended questionnaires were completed by the referring practitioner, by the parent accompanying the child and by the assessing community dental officer.


METHODS
The study was undertaken in the Craigavon and Banbridge area of Northern Ireland.


RESULTS
A total of 177 completed the study, representing an inclusion rate of 93%. The children ranged in age from 3 to 17 years (mean 6.8 years) and previous experience of general anaesthesia for dental extractions was seen in 55 (31%). The most common reasons for referral were the requirement for multiple extractions (63%), the patients' anxiety or fear of dental treatment (60%) and the young age of the patient (60%), and the specification of these reasons was found to be significantly related to separately obtained indicators. A poor record of co-operation for treatment in the past was indicated in almost a third of cases and this indication was significantly related to low levels of co-operation for restorations.


CONCLUSIONS
It appears practitioners have considered a range of factors in their decisions to refer children and there is information which supports these reasons in most instances.
MacCormac
C
C
Division of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Kinirons
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016854:Dental Anxiety; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D009660:Northern Ireland; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*