Meningococcal septicaemia and dental complications: a literature review and two case reports.

The present report describes two cases of dental complications of meningococcemia at an early age. The meningococcal infection in these young children resulted in limb amputation and significant plastic surgery. Dental treatment and psychological considerations are described in both cases. Similar dental complications, especially in the premaxilla, were found. Some of the severely affected teeth were extracted.

A comparison of restorations for children with early childhood caries treated under general anesthesia or conscious sedation.

PURPOSE: There is no data in the dental literature concerning the quality of the restorations performed in young children with early childhood caries (ECC) under sedation as compared with those treated under general anesthesia (GA). The aim of this study was to compare the quality of restorations and recurrent caries in 65 children with ECC who had dental treatment under GA or sedation. METHODS: Thirty-four children, mean age 34.4 months were treated under GA and 31 children with a mean age of 37.2 months were treated under sedation and re-examined 6-24 months after completion of treatment. The quality of the restorations was evaluated using a modified Cvar & Ryge index. RESULTS: Fifty-nine percent of children treated under GA required further dental treatment compared to 74% of children treated under sedation. The majority of the required treatment was due to new caries: 57% in the GA group and 60% in the sedation group. A total of 248 restorations were evaluated for the GA group, with a 94% success rate for marginal adaptation, 92% success for anatomic form, and 97% had no secondary caries. In the sedation group, out of 224 restorations, 78% demonstrated perfect marginal adaptation, 79% showed adequate anatomic form, and 90% had no secondary caries. Successful marginal adaptation was found in 90% of strip crowns placed under GA, compared to 63% of those placed under sedation. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that the outcome of treatments related to quality of the restorations performed under GA is better for all parameters examined.

Dental health behavior of children with BBTD treated using general anesthesia or sedation, and of their parents in a recall examination.

The aim of the study was to assess the dental status and dental health behavior of children with Baby Bottle tooth Decay treated using general anesthesia or sedation, and the dental health behavior of their parents in a recall examination. The study population consisted of sixty-five children, among whom thirty-four were treated using general anesthesia and thirty-one using sedation. The recall examination included a full dental examination from which the children's dif index could be drawn. Loe's plaque index was used to assess the amount of plaque on the teeth. Sociodemographic information and the dental health behavior of the parents and children were obtained. Plaque index was similar in the general anesthesia and sedation groups. The parents of the general anesthesia group were younger than the parents of the sedation group (35.0 +/- 6.7 and 38.8 +/- 6.2 for the fathers, and 32.4 +/- 5.9 and 34.9 +/- 5.3 for the mother, respectively). More firstborn children were treated using general anesthesia than using sedation. Significantly more siblings were treated in the sedation group. Children treated using sedation had significantly more siblings treated in the same mode. Parents of the children in the general anesthesia group were significantly more involved in brushing their children's teeth than the other group. In the sedation group, more children brush their teeth without parental help. Significantly more children in the general anesthesia group reduced their sweet consumption than in the sedation group. We conclude that preventive behaviors were more frequently adopted among the families of children treated using general anesthesia.

Children with baby bottle tooth decay treated under general anesthesia or sedation: behavior in a follow-up visit.

The purpose of the present study was to compare the behaviors of a group of children, who were treated for baby bottle tooth decay (BBTD) under general anesthesia (GA) or under sedation in a dental school environment in a routine follow-up examination, and to assess the dental anxiety levels of the parents. Sixty-five children, who were treated for BBTD in the Pediatric Dentistry clinic of the Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Dental Medicine between 1995-1997 under GA (34 children) or sedation (31 children). The parents of these children agreed to attend our clinic for recall examination 13 months post treatment following a telephone conversation. Frankl's behavioral scale and the sitting pattern were recorded for each child. In the sedation group, Frankl's scores of the present visits were then compared to the scores recorded at the initial examination visit that were obtained from the dental records. The accompanying parents were asked to note the number of visits to the dentist in the past two years, and to complete Corah's dental anxiety scale (DAS). No difference was observed between the children in both groups. Most of the children in the GA and in the sedation groups sat alone on the dental chair, without the assistance of the parents. Parents of the sedation group showed higher scores than the GA group in the total DAS (9.35 and 8.90 respectively), however these differences were not statistically significant. It is concluded that children treated for BBTD under GA or under sedation at a very young age behave similarly in a follow-up examination nearly 13 months postoperatively.