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Potential of nitrous oxide sedation in pedodontics to reduce the need of dental general anesthesia
(2022)
Aim: To investigate the possible reduction of the need for dental general anesthesia (DGA) through nitrous oxide sedation (NOS), when is used in combination with behavior management techniques among patients younger than 12 years of age referred to a specialized pedodontics practice due to the high dental treatment need and poor cooperation level.
Materials and methods: Retrospective analysis was performed of the digital medical records of all children treated under NOS in a specialized pedodontics clinic between 2012 and 2017. The potential reduction of the need for dental general anesthesia was assessed depending on the success rate of NOS on patient-level with relations to multiple related factors such as age, reason of referral and treatment need.
Results: out of 510 patients, 228 meet the inclusion criteria. Nitrous oxide was used in 406 dental treatment sessions on 228 pre-cooperative and/or anxious patients aged 3-12 years (mean 6.4±1.7; 43.4% female). 91.9% of the NOS sessions were successful in achieving the intended dental treatment. Complete oral rehabilitation was possible for 84% of the patients using NOS without the need of DGA. Regarding the age, DGA reduction among pre-school children was lower than in schoolchildren (77.8% and 87.9%, respectively).
Conclusion: A high fraction of anxious or semi-cooperative children with high dental treatment needs can be treated without the use of DGA when a comprehensive concept of caries management is combined with the use of NOS and behavior management techniques. NOS should, therefore, always be considered as an option for dental treatment of semi-cooperative children with high dental treatment needs before making a decision towards DGA.
To assess whether the treatment of children with oral midazolam and pediatric hypnosis techniques can improve the compliance in consecutive sessions, a retrospective longitudinal practice-based observational study was designed and carried out. A total of 311 children between 3 and 12 years of age were treated under hypnosis and sedation with midazolam (0.40 mg/kg body weight). Treatments were performed in one to a maximum of three sessions. A total of 183 children received one, 103 received two and 25 children received three treatment sessions. The behavior of the children during the sessions was examined by means of the Venham score. The self-evaluation of the children was based on the Wong–Baker Scale. Child behavior using midazolam and hypnosis techniques showed little difference and good compliance between the sessions. Venham scores did not increase significantly regarding total treatment from the first (0.99 ± 1.41) to the second (1.17 ± 1.39) and to the third session (1.27 ± 1.20) (p > 0.05). However, considering the highest Venham scores that occurred in each case, the behavior of the children worsened significantly (p < 0.01) during the three treatment sessions, from 1.37 ± 1.31 (first) to 1.87 ± 1.74 (second) to 2.32 ± 1.33 (third). In 6.11% of the children, treatment was discontinued in the first session (n = 19), 0.96% in the second (n = 3) and 0% in the third. Treatment with low-dose midazolam, combined with hypnosis techniques, showed to be an effective option for dental treatment in children. Within the limitations of the current study, and with consideration of highest possible compliance, no more than two treatment sessions for pediatric dental treatment should be performed.