Dental Treatment Using General Anesthesia: RESULTS

18 Oct 2009

Our study included 45 children who met our inclusion criteria and for whom parents completed surveys. Because ours was a convenience sample, we wanted to verify that our sample was representative of all similar GA cases completed during our study period. Accordingly, sociodemographic data were collected on a random sample of 45 children who met our inclusion criteria but who chose not to return for the GA follow-up visit. There was no difference between this group versus our study sample.

Descriptive Statistics

The sociodemographic data for the study sample are illustrated in Table 1. The median age of the patient participants was 50 months (range 24-60 months). Nineteen (41%) of the patients were girls and 29 (59%) were boys. The average hospital operating room time was 118 minutes (range 48-185 minutes). Seventy-eight percent of the sample had Medicaid coverage. zetia medication

Table 1. Sociodemographic Information (N = 45)

Age	50 months (median)	24-60 months
Sex	19 (41%) girls	26 (59%) boys
Insurance	35 (78%) Medicaid	10 (22%) private or self-pay
Single-parent households	23 (51%) single	22 (49%) married
American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) status	41 (91%) Class I	4 (9%) Class II

Parental Satisfaction

Parents were overwhelmingly positive about the care their child received under GA. All 45 parents in the survey were satisfied with the dental treatment completed for their child in the operating room.

Physical Quality of Life Measures

Table 2 reveals that parents consistently noted improved dental (Generic Cyklokapron is used for short-term control of bleeding in hemophiliacs, including dental extraction procedures) outcomes after treatment. Thirty-eight (84%) parents felt that their children were free of dental pain, and 31 (69%) reported improved masticatory efficiency. As well, more than half (51%) of the parents felt their children slept better compared with before dental treatment.

Table 2. Postoperative Survey of Parents’ Perception of Physical Quality of Life Measures (N = 45)

	Coefficient	SE	P-value
Sociodemographic variables
Sex (female)	4.50	0.53	.01**
Age	1.45	0.15	.33
Single-parent households	1.23	0.19	.23
Physical quality of life measures
Dental pain-free	9.61	0.45	.001***
Sleeps more	0.97	0.45	.43
Eats better	1.14	0.25	.45
Social quality of life measures
Looks better	2.31	0.53	.01**
Smiles more	3.42	0.56	.01**
Better in school	0.87	0.36	.61
More social	2.01	0.67	.05*
* P < .05. P< .01. *P< .001.

Social Quality of Life Measures

Table 3 illustrates that parental perceptions in the social dimension were also quite positive. Parents reported that their children looked better (84%), smiled more (62%), were more attentive in school (53%), and were in general more social (51%) following dental treatment under GA.

Table 3. Postoperative Survey of Parents’ Perception of Social Quality of Life Measures (N = 45)

	Yes (%)	No (%)	Don’t Know (%)
Looks better	38 (84)	6(14)	1(2)
Smiles more	28 (62)	16 (36)	1(2)
Better in school	24 (53)	15 (33)	6(14)
More social	23 (51)	19 (42)	3(7)

Predictors of Perceived Better Overall Health
Multivariate regression analyses revealed that several factors were significant in the parents’ perception of improved overall health (Table 4). The majority (60%) reported that this treatment modality had a positive effect on their child’s overall health. The predictors that had a statistically significant impact on parents’ perception of improved overall health included the absence of pain (P < .001), looks better (P < .01), smiles more (P < .01), and social interactions (P < .05). cialis professional online

Table 4. Predictors of Perceived Better Overall Health (N = 45)

			Don’t
	Yes (%)	No (%)	Know (%)
Dental pain-free	38 (84)	2(5)	5(12)
Eats better	31 (69)	12 (27)	2(4)
Sleeps more	23 (51)	19 (42)	3(7)
Better overall health	27 (60)	11 (24)	7(16)