Trends, Characteristics, and Success Rates of Treatment for Severe Early Childhood Caries Under General Anesthesia: A Retrospective Study in Northwest China.

Background/objective: To retrospectively analyze the characteristics, tendencies, and success rates of dental treatments for severe early childhood caries (SECC) under general anesthesia (GA) in in northwest China.

Study Design: Children diagnosed with SECC were included in this retrospective study. From January 2015 to December 2018, they received dental treatment under GA at Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University. Demographic information, caries status and treatment characteristics were collected from electronic medical record system. Success rates of different treatments at 6-month and 12-month follow up were also analyzed.

Results: A total of 846 children (477 male, 369 female) received dental treatment under GA. The case number was increased from 148 in 2015 to 278 in 2018. There were 81.2% and 70.8% of the children participated the 6-month and 12-month follow up. SSC and pulpotomy was the most successful restorations and pulp therapy, with the success rate of 97.09% and 93.98% in 12-month follow up, respectively. The use of crown restorations (including composite resin crown and stainless steel crown) and pulp reservation therapies (including indirect pulp therapy and pulpotomy) were significantly increased while composite resin filling and pulpectomy decreased during 2015 to 2018.

Conclusion: There has been an increasing demand for dental treatment under GA for children with SECC in northwest China, with a trend toward younger ages. With better clinical outcomes, crown restorations and pulp reservation therapies were the fastest-growing treatments under GA.