Success Rate of Treatments Provided for Early Childhood Caries under General Anesthesia: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the success rate of various treatments provided under general anesthesia for early childhood caries (ECC) over three-year follow-up period. METHODS: ECC children no older than 72 months at the time of dental surgery, who had completed a three-year follow-up, were included. The success rate of every treatment was evaluated. The longevity of each treatment and significant factors associated with failures were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 818 children (55.8 percent were males with a mean age of 46.2±13.4 months old) were included. Of these, 32.9 percent had restored teeth that required further treatment during the three-year follow-up. Amalgam restorations and stainless steel crowns (SSCs) showed significantly longer survival than composite restorations in all types of restorations (P<.05). The survival rate of both indirect pulp capping and pulpotomies were the same (P=0.234), and they were significantly higher than that for pulpectomies (P=0.001, P=0.039, respectively). The lower lingual holding arch (LLHA) had a significantly lower survival rate than other space maintainers (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: SSCs and amalgam restorations were clinically more successful and had better survival times than composite restorations. The survival rate for the LLHA was low compared to other space maintainers.

Nitrous oxide-oxygen or oral midazolam for pediatric outpatient sedation.

OBJECTIVE: A total of 1112 pediatric outpatient sedations, by either nitrous oxide-oxygen inhalation (N2O) or oral midazolam, administered over a 10-year period were reviewed. Patient responses and outcomes were evaluated to ascertain the safety of these sedation techniques. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 819 patients were included in this study. Patient health status, age, weight, behavior, treatment rendered, and length of treatment were recorded. Vital signs (heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation) were recorded for the N2O group. Complications and successful completion of treatment were also noted. RESULTS: Both the N2O and midazolam groups demonstrated a low complication rate with a high rate of successful completion of treatment. Patients receiving N2O were somewhat older on average and underwent a greater number of surgical procedures than patients in the midazolam group. Vital signs recorded in the N2O group were observed to remain stable throughout treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The use of either oral midazolam or nitrous oxide-oxygen as single agents provides safe and effective conscious sedation in the pediatric outpatient population.