Aim: The aim of this study was the assessment of prevalence, distribution, and treatment of deep caries and odontogenic abscess formation in children who received emergency dental general anaesthesia (DGA) at the University Hospital of Cranio-Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery of Innsbruck, Austria.
Materials and methods: The study population was composed of 1,184 consecutive cases of emergency DGA from January 2008 to June 2014, in patients ?16 years who had presented with odontogenic pain and/or swelling. Under DGA, the tooth causative for the acute pain, and all teeth with deep caries had been routinely removed. From patient files, demographic data, abscess location and therapy, and the number of teeth extracted under DGA were recorded and analysed by means of descriptive statistics.
Results: In 549 cases (46.4%) (mean age 5.29±2.39 years), an abscess formation was recorded; 90.5% of all abscesses were submucous, and 9.5% affected fascial spaces. Decayed primary molars and maxillary primary incisors and canines were most often causative for abscess formation. Drainage was in most cases performed by tooth extraction with/without an intraoral incision under antibiotic therapy. Per case, a mean of 5.91±4.04 primary teeth were extracted. In 77 individuals (mean age 9.83± 2.59), a mean of 1.92±1.02 permanent first molars were extracted.
Conclusion: In the study population, prevalence of deep caries and abscess formation was alarmingly high. In consideration of the medical risks and high efforts immanent in DGA, educational measures should address parents in order to raise awareness of their responsibility for their children´s health.