The use of general anesthesia in pediatric dental care of children at multi-dental centers in Saudi Arabia.

Objective: High caries reports in young Saudi children strongly suggest the need occasionally for general anesthesia to provide quality dental work. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of patients, dental procedures and hospital protocols for Pediatric Dental General Anesthesia (PDGA) procedure at multi-dental centers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Study Design: Study sample included 90 children attending PDGA treatment at three governmental hospitals in Jeddah. Collected data included patient's demographics, medical condition, admission type, intra-operative protocols, and dental procedures.

Results: Results showed the mean age of treated children was 5 +/- 2 years and the majority of them (93%) were treated for the first time under general anesthesia (GA). Long waiting duration for PDGA procedure was reported regardless of the patient age and medical status. Being very young with extensive caries was the major indication for GA (58%). Children mean preoperative fasting times were 10 +/- 2 hours. Hospitals were significantly different in some protocols for PDGA procedures. Child behavior during GA induction was significantly related to child's age, premedication use, and hospital admission type. The mean number of treated teeth per child was 14 +/- 3.8 and the treatment mostly included restorations. Age was found to significantly affect the type of dental treatment, while gender and medical status did not.

Conclusions: PDGA procedure is used mostly for young children with extensive dental caries. Children treated under GA received a comprehensive dental care in Saudi hospitals. Efforts should be directed to improve some of the existing hospitals protocols with PDGA procedure. The long waiting period for PDGA operation indicated the need to improve available facilities in the three hospitals.