The influence of general health on the need for dental general anaesthesia in children.
OBJECTIVE
To analyse the occurrence and causes of dental general anaesthesia (DGA) in healthy and medically compromised children, and to investigate if there are differences between those groups considering factors associated with DGA and DGA procedures.


METHODS
The data was collected from medical records of children under 7 years of age treated under DGA in the years 2009 and 2010 at the Oulu University Hospital, Finland. The children were divided into two groups: 0-35-month-olds and ≥36-month olds. Background information (year, age, gender, dental diagnosis, health) and the procedures performed were registered. The procedures were analysed considering the child's age and tooth types.


RESULTS
The number of children treated under DGA increased between 2009 (58) and 2010 (82), particularly in the group of healthy children. The two main diagnoses leading to DGA were dental caries and dental fear. Dental caries as the first dental diagnosis leading to DGA was more common among the medically compromised children (61.5%) compared to the healthy children (38.6%). The procedures performed were similar among the two groups. However, they varied between the age groups and tooth types and even between upper and lower teeth. The medically compromised children had been treated more frequently under DGA in the past.


CONCLUSIONS
The threshold for treating medically compromised children under DGA seems to be lower than for healthy children. However, the occurrence of DGA among healthy children has increased recently. To avoid unnecessary DGA, the control of caries should be carried out according to individual needs and independent of whether the child is healthy or has a chronic disease.
Department of Cariology, Endodontology and Paediatric Dentistry, Research Unit of Oral Health Sciences, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5281, 90014, Oulu, Finland. paivi.rajavaara@gmail.com.|Dental Teaching Unit and Unit of Specialised Care, Oral Health Care, Municipal Health Centre, Aapistie 3, P.O. Box 8, 90015, Oulu, Finland. paivi.rajavaara@gmail.com.
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http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4863-4059
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Rajavaara
Department of Cariology, Endodontology and Paediatric Dentistry, Research Unit of Oral Health Sciences, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5281, 90014, Oulu, Finland.
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Rankinen
Department of Cariology, Endodontology and Paediatric Dentistry, Research Unit of Oral Health Sciences, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5281, 90014, Oulu, Finland.
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Laitala
Research Unit of Oral Health Sciences, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5281, 90014, Oulu, Finland.
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Vähänikkilä
University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
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Yli-Urpo
Medical Research Centre Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, OYS, P.O. Box 21, 90029, Oulu, Finland.
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Koskinen
Department of Cariology, Endodontology and Paediatric Dentistry, Research Unit of Oral Health Sciences, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 5281, 90014, Oulu, Finland.|Medical Research Centre Oulu, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, OYS, P.O. Box 21, 90029, Oulu, Finland.
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Anttonen
D000766:Anesthesia, Dental; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019140:Dental Care for Children; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy
Caries; Children; Dental general anaesthesia; General health; Medically compromised