Dental caries treatment completed under general anesthesia among American Indian children in a northern plains tribal community.

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Source: Journal of Public Health Dentistry [Epub ahead of print] | April 14th, 2020 | Authors: Warren JJ, Thrap S, Starr D.

Location: United States, National USA

This map is not part of the following abstract.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To assess the occurrence of treatment under general anesthesia (GA) for dental caries among American Indian (AI) children from a Northern Plains tribal community.

METHODS: As part of a follow-up study of ECC, dental records for children age 6-8 years were evaluated. Descriptive statistics were generated, including the number of dental visits, extent of treatment, and whether the treatment was completed under GA.

RESULTS: Data were obtained from 95 dental records. The age of dental visits varied from 15 months to 8 years. Of the 95 children, 79 (83.2%) received dental treatment under GA at least once; 24 (25.2%) did so two or more times. The majority of the treatment involved extractions and placement of stainless steel crowns.

CONCLUSIONS: A large number of AI children received dental treatment under GA; many did so multiple times. Given the high cost of this treatment, even modestly effective preventive strategies such as silver diamine fluoride could yield cost savings.

*Original abstract online at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jphd.12369?af=R

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