title: Waiting times before dental care under general anesthesia in children with special needs in the Children's Hospital of Casablanca.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Oral diseases may have an impact on quality of children's life. The presence of severe disability requires the use of care under general anesthesia (GA). However, because of the limited number of qualified health personnel, waiting time before intervention can be long.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the waiting time before dental care under general anesthesia for children with special needs in Morocco.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective cohort study was carried out in pediatric dentistry unit of the University Hospital of Casablanca. Data were collected from records of patients seen for the first time between 2006 and 2011. The waiting time was defined as the time between the date of the first consultation and intervention date.
  
  
  RESULTS
  127 children received dental care under general anesthesia, 57.5% were male and the average age was 9.2 (SD = 3.4). Decay was the most frequent reason for consultation (48%), followed by pain (32%). The average waiting time was 7.6 months (SD = 4.2 months). The average number of acts performed per patient was 13.5.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Waiting times were long, it is necessary to take measures to reduce delays and improve access to oral health care for this special population.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric dentistry unit, faculty of dentistry of Casablanca.
authors.forename: Bouchra
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Badre
authors.affiliation: Medical informatics laboratory, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Casablanca.
authors.forename: Zineb
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Serhier
authors.affiliation: Pediatric dentistry unit, faculty of dentistry of Casablanca.
authors.forename: Samira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: El Arabi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003729:Dental Care / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009018:Morocco; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D061665:Time-to-Treatment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014850:Waiting Lists
keywords: Child with special needs; dental care; general anesthesia