Dental Procedures Under General Anesthesia in Children with Primary Dentition: A Retrospective Study

Background: Dental treatments in uncooperative or special needs children are generally performed under sedation or general anesthesia. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the reasons for performing dental treatments under general anesthesia or sedation and to analyze the applied treatment approaches in these pediatric patients. Materials and Methods: The records of children in the primary dentition period who were treated under general anesthesia or sedation at the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Necmettin Erbakan University between January 2022 and December 2022 were reviewed. Demographic characteristics, health status (disability, systemic disease, or healthy condition), presence of panoramic or periapical radiographs, and the frequency of performed dental procedures were evaluated. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23, with Chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests applied, and the significance level was set at p<0.05.Results: Among the 100 patients included in the study, 49 were female and 51 were male. Sedation was administered to 29 patients, while 71 received general anesthesia. Eighty-two patients were systemically healthy, and 18 had chronic diseases or disabilities. Radiographic imaging was obtained in 80 patients. Twenty-eight children were aged 0-3 years, and 72 were aged 4-6 years. A total of 865 teeth were treated, including restorative (55.26%), extraction (38.84%), and pulpal (5.89%) procedures. A statistically significant difference was found between the general anesthesia and sedation groups in terms of treatment type and intensity (p<0.001), as well as between age groups regarding radiographic imaging (p=0.006).Conclusions: In pediatric dentistry, dental procedures performed under general anesthesia and sedation are becoming increasingly common. Pediatric dentists play a crucial role in providing appropriate treatment approaches for child patients and in raising public awareness on this issue.