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Reasons for referral of children to a general anaesthetic service in Northern Ireland
Author(s) -
MacCormac,
Kinirons
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
international journal of paediatric dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.183
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1365-263X
pISSN - 0960-7439
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-263x.1998.00086.x
Subject(s) - medicine , referral , general anaesthesia , anxiety , general anaesthetic , family medicine , officer , inclusion (mineral) , dental care , pediatrics , psychiatry , gender studies , sociology , political science , law
Objective . To investigate, in a case‐specific manner, dental practitioners’ clinical and social reasons for referral of children for dental extractions under general anaesthesia and to relate these to separately obtained information. Design . For each child referred to the community general anaesthetic dental extraction service, closed‐ended questionnaires were completed by the referring practitioner, by the parent accompanying the child and by the assessing community dental officer. Setting . The study was undertaken in the Craigavon and Banbridge area of Northern Ireland. Results . A total of 177 completed the study, representing an inclusion rate of 93%. The children ranged in age from 3 to 17 years (mean 6·8 years) and previous experience of general anaesthesia for dental extractions was seen in 55 (31%). The most common reasons for referral were the requirement for multiple extractions (63%), the patients’ anxiety or fear of dental treatment (60%) and the young age of the patient (60%), and the specification of these reasons was found to be significantly related to separately obtained indicators. A poor record of co‐operation for treatment in the past was indicated in almost a third of cases and this indication was significantly related to low levels of co‐operation for restorations. Conclusion . It appears practitioners have considered a range of factors in their deci‐ sions to refer children and there is information which supports these reasons in most instances.