Oral Health-Related Quality of Life After Dental Rehabilitation Under General Anesthesia in Children With Early Childhood Caries and Special Health Care Needs.

OBJECTIVE

Early childhood caries (ECC) has emerged as a prevalent global epidemic. Furthermore, we recognize that children with special health care needs (CSHCN) have a higher prevalence of diseases like ECC. Dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia (DRGA) is an efficient, safe, high-quality treatment modality that can be completed in one appointment, requiring little cooperation from children, and the child does not have any bad memories of treatments. The study aims to examine the impact of comprehensive dental treatment under general anesthesia on the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of children with ECC, as well as the quality of life of their caregivers.

METHODOLOGY

This is a cross-sectional study using the survey method. The study consists of a 13-item questionnaire. The questionnaire is called the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS). This questionnaire was filled out before DRGA, two weeks and one year after the treatment was done under general anesthesia.

RESULTS

The study population included healthy (7) and special needs children (9). The results indicated that both normal and special children in the present study population had higher total ECOHIS scores. The child impact score was higher and statistically significant among special children (23.00 ± 6.32) in comparison to normal children, indicating poor quality of life. When comparing pre- and post-intervention, there was a significant improvement in ECOHIS scores for normal and special children.

CONCLUSION

The DRGA significantly improved OHRQoL in ECC children. In CSHCN, the improvement was even greater.