Medical Diagnoses, Mode of Residence, and Dental Treatment Demand under General Anesthesia in Special Needs Adults in Innsbruck, Austria. A Retrospective Breakdown of Four and a Half Years

Dagmar Schnabl; Michael Oberhofer; Fabian Barbieri; Johannes Laimer; René Steiner; Emanuel Bruckmoser; Ingrid Grunert

doi:10.3390/healthcare9030279

Medical Diagnoses, Mode of Residence, and Dental Treatment Demand under General Anesthesia in Special Needs Adults in Innsbruck, Austria. A Retrospective Breakdown of Four and a Half Years

Healthcare (Basel). 2021 Mar 4;9(3):279. doi: 10.3390/healthcare9030279.

Authors

Dagmar Schnabl¹, Michael Oberhofer¹, Fabian Barbieri², Johannes Laimer¹, René Steiner¹, Emanuel Bruckmoser³, Ingrid Grunert¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Operative and Prosthetic Dentistry, Medical University Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
² Department of Internal Medicine III, Cardiology and Angiology, Medical University Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
³ Private Practice for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 5020 Salzburg, Austria.

Abstract

Regarding oral/dental care and attendance, special needs individuals depend on their caregivers' commitment. The purpose of this retrospective data analysis of adults who received dental general anesthesia (DGA) in Innsbruck, Austria, was a breakdown of demographic parameters (including the mode of accommodation/care), medical diagnoses (comprising intellectual/physical disablement (IPD) or psychiatric (anxiety) disorders (PDs)), and dental therapy performed under DGA. The sample was composed of 233 consecutive adults who underwent DGA from January 2015 to June 2019. Data were analyzed with descriptive and comparative statistics. In total, 133 (57.1%) subjects were male and 100 (42.9%) female; 176 (75.5%) had IPD and 57 (24.5%) PDs; 168 (72.1%) were living at private and 65 (27.9%) at nursing homes. Median age (IQR) was 35.6 (25.7-47.2) years. In the total sample, 5 (2-9) teeth were restored and 2 (0.5-6.5) teeth were extracted. Individuals with PDs had more teeth restored (p = 0.01) and extracted (p < 0.001) than individuals with IPD. Private home residents had more teeth restored (p < 0.001) but less teeth extracted (p = 0.003) than nursing home residents. Special needs individuals' oral health backlog should be tackled in private and institutional care modalities alike.

Keywords: adults; dental general anesthesia; dentist phobia; home health care; intellectual disablement; nursing home; physical disablement; psychiatric disorder; special needs.