Dental examinations prior to elective surgery under anesthesia.

It is important to involve the patient's general dentist in the preoperative management, since routine dental examinations are performed more frequently than surgery. If the dentist learns from the patient that he or she will be undergoing surgery, the dentist should stress the importance of stabilizing or removing any loose teeth or prostheses prior to surgery. In most medical centers today, patients undergoing elective surgery are seen by the anesthesiologist prior to their date of surgery for preadmission testing. A review of the patient's medical history is obtained and physical examination is performed. The anesthesiologist examines the patient for difficulty with opening the mouth, and for any loose crowns or dentures. If there are dental problems that should be corrected, the patient should be requested to visit his/her dentist prior to surgery. This will help prevent problems during the administration of general anesthesia. Reviewing the literature, it is difficult to obtain definite statistics on the incidence of dental complications secondary to general anesthesia. Most references agree that damage to the teeth and dental appliances is the most common complication of intubation. Damaged teeth result in the largest number of lawsuits filed against anesthesiologist. One review of anesthesia-related claims reports that 17 percent of the claims are due to damage to the teeth or dental prosthesis. Several authors had advocated the use of devices to help protect the dentition during the surgery. Most of these devices temporarily splint or protect the teeth from trauma during intubation and extubation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)