Assessing change in quality of life and dental anxiety in young children following dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia.
OBJECTIVE
This study's purpose was to investigate how young children's and parent/caregivers' oral health-related quality of life and children's dental fears were affected by dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia (DRGA).


METHODS
A consecutive clinical sample of dyads of parents/caregivers and their four- to six-year-old children who received DRGA were surveyed before and after DRGA. Parents/caregivers responded through a self-administered questionnaire [Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS)], and children received a dentist-administered questionnaire [children's fear survey schedule-dental subscale (CFSS-DS)].


RESULTS
The final sample consisted of 311 children/caregiver dyads. One to six teeth were extracted in 91 percent of children. There was a 44 percent decrease in total ECOHIS scores following treatment (P<.001). Overall child impact section scores decreased 34 percent following treatment (P<.001), and family impact section scores decreased 65 percent (P<.001). CFSS-DS anxiety scores after dental treatment were significantly higher for 14 of 15 situations/conditions assessed (P<.001). There was a trend of higher CFSS-DS scores in children who received increasing numbers of extractions.


CONCLUSIONS
Children's and parent/caregivers' quality of life improved after the children received dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia, and children's fears increased for all situations tested. The number of extractions the children received was associated with increased levels of fear.
Assistant professor of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey. k_cantekin@hotmail.com.
Kenan
K
Cantekin
Assistant professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey.
Mustafa Denizhan
MD
Yildirim
Assistant professor, Department of Internal Medicine Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Meliksah University, Kayseri, Turkey.
Isin
I
Cantekin
D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000523:psychology*; D000768:Anesthesia, General / Q000523:psychology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003442:Crowns / Q000523:psychology; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000523:psychology; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D002666:Psychology, Child; D011672:Pulpotomy / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000523:psychology