Dental care and treatments provided under general anaesthesia in the Helsinki Public Dental Service

Abstract

Abstract Background Dental general anaesthesia (DGA) is a very efficient treatment modality, but is considered only in the last resort because of the risks posed by general anaesthesia to patients’ overall health. Health services and their treatment policies regarding DGA vary from country to country. The aims of this work were to determine the reasons for DGA in the Helsinki Public Dental Service (PDS) and to assess the role of patient characteristics in the variation in reasons and in the treatments given with special focus on preventive care. Methods The data covered all DGA patients treated in the PDS in Helsinki in 2010. The data were collected from patient documents and included personal background: age ( Results The DGA patients (n=349) were aged 2.3 to 67.2 years. Immigrants predominated in the youngest age group (p Conclusions Extreme non-cooperation, dental fear and an excessive need for treatment were the main reasons for the use of comprehensive, conservative DGA in the Helsinki PDS. The reasons for the use of DGA and the treatments provided varied according to personal and medical background, and immigration status with no gender-differences. Preventive measures formed only a minor part of the dental care given under DGA.

Keywords

• Dental general anaesthesia
• Public Dental Service
• Indications
• Comprehensive treatment
• Preventive treatment
• Immigration
• Medically compromised patients