Necesidades de tratamiento odontológico de pacientes pediátricos bajo anestesia general

Introduction. Children with disabilities or systemic incapacitating disorders, and uncooperative healthy patients demanding dental care are increasing in our population. The purpose of this work was to determine the role of the general anesthetic in the management of dental patients with special needs. Material and methods. This is a retrospective study performed in a reference hospital in a 34 months period. Special needs dental patients (n=31) were included. Age, gender, type of special needs, previous dental treatment, weight, height, clinical condition, complications, and anesthesic procedures were collected from clinical charts. Results. Cerebral palsy, uncooperative healthy children, and Down syndrome were the most frequent indication for general anesthesia management. Composite fillings, fit and fissure sealant, prophylactic procedures, dental extractions, endodontic therapy, stainless steel crowns, and oral surgery were the most frequent dental procedures demanding general anesthesia. The following results are presented as average: age, 6 years; number of anesthesic procedures per patient, 9; duration of the dental procedure, 12 min; oral rehabilitation length, 100 min. Conclusion. General anesthesia is an effective tool in the management of children with special needs requiring dental care.