IADR Abstract Archives
Dental Fear Changes after Restorative Treatment under Different Sedation Types
Objectives: The goal of this study was to examine changes in dental fear following restorative treatment comparing children who received restorative treatment under general anesthesia (GA) to those with nitrous oxide.
Methods: We recruited children 4-12 years of age requiring restorative dental treatment from the University of Washington Center for Pediatric Dentistry. Dental fear was assessed through the dental subscale of the Children’s Fear Survey Schedule (CFSS-DS). The survey was completed by parents of children before treatment and 3 months after treatment. We estimated descriptive statistics using means and proportions and compared CFSS-DS scores using means, standard deviations (s.d.), and p-values at the level of 0.05.
Results: We recruited 124 children of which 50% were female; 54.8% received treatment under GA and 45.2% received treatment with nitrous oxide. Baseline CFSS-DS scores for those receiving GA (mean=32.7, s.d.=14.6) were statistically significantly higher than for those receiving nitrous oxide (mean=27.0, s.d.=10.0); difference=5.7, 95% CI=5.0-10.0, p=0.01). Patients receiving nitrous oxide had an increase in CFSS-DS scores from baseline to follow-up (mean change=12.0, p=0.06), though the difference was not statistically significant. GA patients’ dental fear scores did not change (mean change=0.8, p=0.46). The between-group difference in CFSS-DS mean change between GA and nitrous oxide was not statistically significant (mean difference in change=11.2, p=0.07).
Conclusions: Children receiving GA had more dental fear at baseline than those receiving nitrous oxide. There was a non-statistically significant increase in dental fear scores from baseline to follow-up for patients receiving treatment under nitrous oxide. Receiving dental treatment under less-sedating nitrous oxide may make patients more aware of painful or otherwise unpleasant aspects of treatment, increasing their fear of receiving dental care. Dentists implementing restorative treatment plans for children or adolescents should consider patients’ pre-existing levels of dental fear and the difficulty of procedures when considering sedation options for treatment.
Methods: We recruited children 4-12 years of age requiring restorative dental treatment from the University of Washington Center for Pediatric Dentistry. Dental fear was assessed through the dental subscale of the Children’s Fear Survey Schedule (CFSS-DS). The survey was completed by parents of children before treatment and 3 months after treatment. We estimated descriptive statistics using means and proportions and compared CFSS-DS scores using means, standard deviations (s.d.), and p-values at the level of 0.05.
Results: We recruited 124 children of which 50% were female; 54.8% received treatment under GA and 45.2% received treatment with nitrous oxide. Baseline CFSS-DS scores for those receiving GA (mean=32.7, s.d.=14.6) were statistically significantly higher than for those receiving nitrous oxide (mean=27.0, s.d.=10.0); difference=5.7, 95% CI=5.0-10.0, p=0.01). Patients receiving nitrous oxide had an increase in CFSS-DS scores from baseline to follow-up (mean change=12.0, p=0.06), though the difference was not statistically significant. GA patients’ dental fear scores did not change (mean change=0.8, p=0.46). The between-group difference in CFSS-DS mean change between GA and nitrous oxide was not statistically significant (mean difference in change=11.2, p=0.07).
Conclusions: Children receiving GA had more dental fear at baseline than those receiving nitrous oxide. There was a non-statistically significant increase in dental fear scores from baseline to follow-up for patients receiving treatment under nitrous oxide. Receiving dental treatment under less-sedating nitrous oxide may make patients more aware of painful or otherwise unpleasant aspects of treatment, increasing their fear of receiving dental care. Dentists implementing restorative treatment plans for children or adolescents should consider patients’ pre-existing levels of dental fear and the difficulty of procedures when considering sedation options for treatment.