Dental treatments in patients with special needs provided by university medical center in Southern Taiwan: a retrospective study

• Published in: Clinical oral investigations Vol. 28; no. 7; p. 398
• Main Authors: Yen, Yu-Fen, Lin, Sheng-Hsiang, Hsu, Hsiu-Ming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 26.06.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Academic Medical Centers; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anesthesia; Anesthesia, General; Child; Child, Preschool; Demographics; Dental care; Dental Care for Disabled; Dental restorative materials; Dentistry; Female; Fluoride treatments; Fluorides; Genetic disorders; Health services; Humans; Infant; Intellectual disabilities; Male; Medicine; Middle Aged; Patients; Physician patient relationships; Retrospective Studies; Review; Root canals; Single-nucleotide polymorphism; Taiwan; Taiwan; Mental disability; Intellectual disability; Dental treatment; Special needs patients; Domiciliary dental care
• ISSN: 1436-3771; 1432-6981; 1436-3771
• DOI: 10.1007/s00784-024-05795-z

Objectives We perform special-need dental treatment at outpatient department (OPD), under general anesthesia (GA) when necessary, and provide domiciliary dental care. We aim to evaluate the profile and the characteristics of special needs patients (SNPs). Materials and methods We consecutively enrolled 3117 SNPs from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2022. Eighty patients with rare or genetic diseases were excluded. Demographic data were retrospectively collected. Results There were totally 3037 SNPs (mean age: 48.2 years; range, 1-100; male-to-female ratio, 1.5); 89.1% ( n  = 2705) SNPs received dental care at the OPD (OPD-SNPs), 7.9% ( n  = 239) received dental treatment under GA, and 3.0% ( n  = 93) received domiciliary dental care. Among those SNPs who received dental treatment under GA ( n  = 239), 91.2% ( n  = 218) were mental/intellectual disabled, and most underwent cavity filling (69.5%) and dental extractions (56.5%). OPD-SNPs with mental/intellectual disabilities ( n  = 1340) received significantly more items of dental treatment than those without ( n  = 1365). SNPs with more severe disabilities received more fluoride application and ultrasonic scaling (both p  < 0.001, trend tests). Interestingly, among OPD-SNPs with mental/intellectual disabilities ( n  = 1340), more severe patients received more fluoride application ( p  < 0.001) and ultrasonic scaling ( p  < 0.001) but fewer root canal treatment ( p  = 0.007, trend test). Conclusions GA benefited SNPs with more dental procedures, including invasive items. SNPs with mental/intellectual disabilities can tolerate more measures and SNPs with more severe mental/intellectual disabilities received more preventive measures but less invasive measures. Similarly, more severe SNPs with other disabilities received more preventive measures but not invasive measures. Clinical relevance Our findings may provide useful information for special needs dentists and for doctor-patient communication.