Journal of clinical medicine
Dental Treatment Needs and Management in Medically Compromised Children at a Tertiary Pediatric Dental Center-A Retrospective Observational Study
By Piekoszewska-Ziętek P and Olczak-Kowalczyk D.
Abstract
Background
Medically compromised pediatric patients often present with extensive dental treatment needs and may require treatment under general anesthesia due to behavioral limitations or systemic health conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate dental treatment needs, clinical status, and indications for general anesthesia among medically compromised children referred for dental consultation from a tertiary children's hospital.
Methods
This retrospective study included 215 medically compromised children referred from a tertiary children's hospital to the Department of Pediatric Dentistry between 2020 and 2024. Data extracted included age, sex, type of dentition, systemic diagnosis, dmft/DMFT and pufa/PUFA (the clinical consequences of untreated dental caries, including pulpal involvement, ulceration, fistula, and abscess formation), treatment type, and reasons for the use of general anesthesia. Group comparisons were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables and the chi-square or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables.