Associated factors to caries experience of children undergoing general anaesthesia and treatment needs characteristics over a 10 year period

Dental caries still remains a global public health problem [1], although a substantial decline in prevalence in children in many parts of the world has been observed [2, 3]. This caries decline is characterized by a strong polarization, leaving a considerable group of children with very high levels of dental caries and treatment needs [4]. If left untreated, dental caries can cause pain and infection [5]. Moreover, the disease can affect general health [6] due to its impact on children’s nutrition, growth and development. An association between dental caries and BMI has also been suggested [7]. A BMI outside the ideal range may be a risk factor for dental caries, but may also be considered an outcome of dental caries [8]. Nevertheless, in young children with early childhood caries (ECC) the link between ECC and obesity is controversial [9‐12].

While the majority of children with caries can be successfully treated with simple behavior modification techniques such as “tell, show and do” [13] under local analgesia (LA) alone, some children fail to respond and require other modalities for anxiety and pain management for treatment to be successfully delivered [14]. Especially very young children with extensive dental decay as well as highly anxious and children, who are unable to comply with the demand of treatment due to behavioral management problems belong to this group [15]. General anesthesia (GA) is a very efficient treatment modality for these children, as it only takes a single appointment and requires little or no cooperation from the side of the patient [16]. GA results in total relaxation, and recall of the procedure is minimized [17]. However, it is only regarded as the last resort, because general anesthesia may pose risks for the patient’s overall health [16].

The characteristics of comprehensive dental treatment under GA have been reported in several studies [14, 16, 18‐20]. However, the literature reveals a lack of scientific studies on the trends in pediatric dental treatment performed under GA over a longer time period and simultaneously analyze risk factors such as nutritional status. To our knowledge, only Chen et al. [21] assessed treatment patterns in Taiwan over such a long observation period. Additionally, Alkilzy et al. [22] compared changes in treatment approaches under GA at two time points.

Therefore, the aim of this retrospective (comparative), monocentric cross-sectional study was two-fold: Firstly, it evaluated possible risk factors such as age, migration background and nutritional status for caries experience (dmf-s) in these children. Secondly, it analyzed the characteristics of treatments of children aged 1–6 years who underwent GA in a German spezialized pediatric dental institution between 2002 and 2011 in different time periods (2002–2006, 2007–2011).

Accordingly, the caries experience (dmf-s) was the primary outcome of this study; two main null hypothesis for this study were formulated: (1) there is no association between caries experience (dmf-s) and BMI index, and (2) there is no difference in terms of characteristics of treatment in both time periods.

Among several oral disorders, dental caries is one of the most prevalent diseases in pediatric dental patients across the globe [25]. Especially early childhood caries is a global public health burden, in medical, social, and economic terms [26]. In the current study, a high caries experience was found in children aged 1–6 years undergoing GA with age and migration status being detected as relevant risk factors. National data from Germany for the years 2000–2009 show that the average dmft for 6-year-olds was 2.21 and 1.87, respectively [27, 28]. Caries experience in our study sample was found to be approximately five times higher with approximately 10 affected teeth. This is in agreement with other ECC studies reporting 8–9 affected teeth [29, 30]. Considering the young age, GA is the preferable option in these cases. Within GA, it is possible to restore optimal oral health in a single visit and prevent any anxiety.

Choice of dental treatment modality was found to be different in both time periods. In general, ECC treatment approaches under GA fall under two main categories: extractions only, or an approach that combines all treatments, including preventive, restorative and surgical procedures [31]. The choice is influenced by many factors: the restorability of the tooth, caries risk, parents' compliance and wishes, socioeconomical status, as well as the resources that are available [31]. In our study, significantly more patients were treated with restorative treatment approaches including strip crowns, stainless steel crowns, pulpotomies and fillings between 2007–2011 compared to 2002–2006. This might be explained by the resources available in the study center. In the second time period, dentists certified in pediatric dentistry were present with restorative procedures including endodontic treatment and crowns being routinely performed. Especially trends in pulp therapy were found to be different in our study. In the first time period (2002–2007) no tooth received pulpotomy and one teeth pulpectomy with calcium hydroxide as an intracanal medicament for disinfection. It can be assumed that these teeth were extracted as probably a broader approach was taken in these years. In the second time period (2007–2011) 66 teeth received pulpotomy and three teeth an endodontic treatment as described above. Moreover, much more SSC were placed between 2007 and 2011. This increase in using SSC is in accordance other retrospective studies. Chen et al. [21] observed an increasing trend in Taiwan towards the use of SSCs under GA over 10 years (2006–2015). However, they also showed that more primary teeth were extracted than endodontically treated. They argued that their children aged up to 6 years had rampant caries that involved the upper anterior primary teeth and an advanced caries extension, and in such circumstances, the tooth structure was seriously damaged. This is in accordance to the results of the present study; accordingly, extractions were still the most chosen option in this cohort at both time periods. However, the favorited approach in the study center was restoration of anterior teeth with strip crowns if possible, especially in later years.

Despite contemporary preventive and minimally invasive treatment approaches in pediatric dentistry, tooth extraction is still a necessary treatment for advanced and multisurface caries and the frequent choice of this treatment option shows again that ECC is progressing rapidly and children in need for GA often show severely damaged tooth structure.

Caries experience was found to be affected by age and migration background. However, these factors explain only 11.5% of variance in dmf-s. Furthermore, it should be taken into account that the majority of patients are male (almost 60%). Overall, within the present study the influencing factors were considered within a cohort of children with increased dental treatment demand who can be considered as a high-risk group. Socioeconomic factors at the community and family level, such as ethnicity are well-recognized determinants of oral health and identified as risk factors in several studies reviewed [32‐34]. Parental education and employment status are also known to influence caries development [35].

Interestingly, caries experience was not affected by nutritional status in the current study. Overweight children did not have higher mean dmf-s scores compared to normal or underweight children. Thus, our hypothesis needed to be rejected. However, measuring the link between weight and pediatric dental health has always been controversial in the literature. A recent systematic review failed to draw clear conclusions [36]. Some studies showed that children with normal weight had significantly less caries in their primary teeth than the overweight children [37, 38]. In contrast, Chen et al. (1998) [39] did not find an association between dental caries in primary teeth and BMI in 3-year-old children. This was supported by recent studies [40, 41]. To date, the hypothesized nature of protective effect of the weight on dental caries experience in the primary dentition is still uncertain, as many other factors which influence this relationship have not been considered [38].

One limitation of our study regarding treatment option is that it was not possible to analyze if teeth that have been extracted in the first time period between 2002 and 2006 might have been suitable for pulp therapy. No pulpotomy was performed during these years. Furthermore, there might be a bias due to the fact that different operators were involved in the treatment under GA. However, certain strengths of our study can also be pointed out. These include the size of the cohort, the length of observation time over 10 years with a detailed focus on two time periods, as well as comprehensive data preparation and observation taking into consideration the age group and treatment under GA.

This study highlights that children aged 1–6 years treated under GA in Germany show a high caries experience with age and migration background being identified as risk factors. Nutritional status showed no influence on caries experience. Regarding treatment approaches, tooth extractions were the most chosen treatment approach in both time periods due to advanced caries extension, however more restorative approaches were taken between 2007 and 2011 including pulp therapy and the use of strip and stainless steel crowns.