General anesthesia for oral and dental care in paediatric patients with special needs: A systematic review

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study is to conduct a systematic review of the literature on the characteristics, needs and current situation of dental care for pediatric patients with special needs. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An exhaustive search for literature published until June 1, 2020. It was carried out using PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane and EBSCO, with the following keywords: Oral Surgical Procedures and Dentistry, Operational and Anesthesia, General Y (Spanish[lang] or English[lang] ) Y (infant[MeSH] Or child[MeSH] Or adolescent[MeSH]). The research was carried out following the PRISMA research methodology. RESULTS: The most common indication for general anesthesia (GA) was tooth decay in 16 studies (6.5-90.8% of patients), followed by lack of cooperation and/or fear of dental professionals performing dental procedures in 8 studies. There is a higher prevalence of treatment in the group of patients with special needs, reaching 87.7% compared to 69.9% in healthy patients. CONCLUSIONS: In paediatric patients with special needs the use of GA is increasing, monitoring and preventive care are insufficient and withdrawal rates are high. Key words:Oral surgical procedures and dentistry, operational and anesthesia, general.