Purpose: To investigate parental perceptions of comprehensive dental care under general anesthesia for their children.
Materials and Methods: The study included parents of children who underwent comprehensive dental care under general anesthesia. Only parents who could communicate in English were included. They were invited to participate in a telephone interview within four weeks of their children’s dental treatment under general anesthesia. The interviews were designed to gather information on three main domains: problems experienced before the operation, children’s well-being after the operation, and satisfaction.
Results: A total of 45 parents participated in the study; 91.1% identified as women and 8.8% as men. Most parents resided in areas categorised as either more deprived (51%) or most deprived (24.4%), based on deprivation indices. Prior to surgery, 66.7% of children suffered from dental pain, 44.4% were affected by dental abscesses or facial swelling, 42.2% experienced difficulties with eating and drinking, while 37.8% experienced sleeping difficulties. Painkillers were used for a short duration to manage post-operative pain (48.9%). Four weeks after the operation, many parents reported improvements in their children’s mouth comfort. They observed positive changes in their children’s ability to eat (40%), sleep habits (33.3%), and overall health and well-being (82.2%). Overall, most parents expressed high levels of satisfaction with the care their children received (95.5%).
Conclusion: Parents observed improvements in their children’s oral health and reported high level of satisfaction with the procedures.
Keywords: dental treatment, general anaesthesia, paediatric, parental
