Investigating The Behavioral Changes In 3-6-Year-Old Children Receiving General Anesthesia For Dental Treatment

Abstract

Introduction: General anesthesia is one of the ways to control the behavior of uncooperative and disabled children with dental fear. Also, the effect of general anesthesia on the dimensions of behavioral problems in children is still under question. Thus, the present study aims to investigate behavioral changes in 3-6-year-old children receiving general anesthesia for dental treatment.

Methods: This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study investigated 70 children aged 3 to 6 receiving anesthesia for dental treatments. The desired data were collected using the PBQ (Preschool Behavioral Questionnaire) and by the parents one day before the treatment and 40 days after the treatment. After collecting the data and entering them into Spss24 software, they were analyzed at a 5% error level using a t-test, paired t-test, and Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients.

Results: In this study, 40 boys (57.1%) and 30 girls (42.9%) with a mean age of 4.036±0.98 years and a minimum age of 3 years, and a maximum age of 6 years participated. The results revealed a significant difference between children before and after general anesthesia regarding aggressiveness and inattention (p=0.002). However, no significant difference was observed between children's isolation during the studied times (p=0.727). No significant difference was observed between the two stages before and after applying anesthesia regarding tooth restoration and overall behavioral problems (p>0.05).

Conclusion: Anesthesia in non-cooperative children as a complication will increase behavioral disorders in children. Hence, it is better to use it only in children who do not cooperate enough for outpatient treatment.