title: Change in children's oral health-related quality of life following dental treatment under general anaesthesia for the management of dental caries: a systematic review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dental caries has significant impact on children and their families and may necessitate treatment under general anaesthesia (GA). The use of oral health-related quality-of-life (OHRQoL) measures enables evaluation of dental treatment from a patient's perspective.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This systematic review aimed to assess change in OHRQoL in children following treatment under GA for the management of dental caries.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comprehensive search was conducted to identify articles which were assessed against inclusion criteria before data extraction. Studies involving children under 16 years, having treatment for dental caries under GA, were considered eligible. Included studies were quality assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty studies were included, which demonstrated significant heterogeneity. Most studies employed a pre-test-post-test design. All but one study relied on proxy reports of OHRQoL. Only half the studies used instruments validated in the study population. Whereas all studies reported improved OHRQoL overall, some subscales showed changes which were not significant or worsened OHRQoL. The scientific quality of the studies varied considerably.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Heterogeneity of included papers limited the conclusions which could be drawn. Treatment under GA appears to result in overall improvements in proxy-reported OHRQoL; however, there is a need for further high-quality studies employing validated, child-reported measures of OHRQoL.
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Dental Public Health, School of Clinical Dentistry, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8899-6548
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Knapp
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Oral Health and Development, School of Clinical Dentistry, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gilchrist
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Oral Health and Development, School of Clinical Dentistry, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Helen D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Rodd
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Dental Public Health, School of Clinical Dentistry, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Zoe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Marshman
mesh_terms: D000768:Anesthesia, General; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D009909:Oral Health; D011788:Quality of Life