The identification of agreed criteria for referral following the dental inspection of children in the school setting.
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AIM: To clarify the function of the school based dental inspection. OBJECTIVE: For representatives of the Community Dental Service, General Dental Service and Hospital Dental Service to identify an agreed set of criteria for the referral of children following school dental inspection. DESIGN: Qualitative research methodology used to establish a consensus for the inclusion of referral criteria following dental screening. SETTING: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England. MATERIALS: A Delphi technique was used to establish a consensus amongst the study participants on the inclusion of nine possible criteria for referral following dental screening. All participants scored each criterion in the range 1-9, with a score of 1 indicating that referral of individuals with the condition should definitely not take place, and a score of 9 indicating referral should definitely take place. Referral criteria were accepted only if they achieved a group median score of 7 or more, with an interquartile range of three scale points, with the lower value being no less than 7. RESULTS: Four of the nine possible criteria met the agreed group standard for inclusion: 'Sepsis', 'Caries in the secondary dentition', 'Overjet > 10 mm', and 'Registered & caries in the permanent dentition'. CONCLUSION: It is possible to agree clear criteria for the referral of children following the school dental inspection. (+info)
A pilot study of the efficacy of oral midazolam for sedation in pediatric dental patients.
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Oral midazolam is being used for conscious sedation in dentistry with little documentation assessing its efficacy. In order to accumulate preliminary data, a randomized, double-blind, controlled, crossover, multi-site pilot study was conducted. The objective was to determine if 0.6 mg/kg of oral midazolam was an equally effective or superior means of achieving conscious sedation in the uncooperative pediatric dental patient, compared with a commonly used agent, 50 mg/kg of oral chloral hydrate. Twenty-three children in three clinics who required dentistry with local anesthetic and were determined to exhibit behavior rated as "negative" or "definitely negative" based on the Frankl scale were assessed. They were evaluated with respect to acceptance of medication; initial level of anxiety at each appointment; level of sedation prior to and acceptance of local anesthetic; movement and crying during the procedure; and overall behavior. The results showed that the group randomly assigned to receive midazolam had a significantly greater initial level of anxiety for that appointment (P < 0.02), a finding that could clearly confound further determination of the efficacy of these drugs. Patients given oral midazolam had an increased level of sedation prior to the administration of local anesthetic compared with those given chloral hydrate (P < 0.015). No statistically significant differences were noted in any of the other parameters. The age of the patient was found to have no correlation with the difference in overall behavior (r = -0.09). These preliminary data warrant further clinical trials. (+info)
Comparison of oral chloral hydrate with intramuscular ketamine, meperidine, and promethazine for pediatric sedation--preliminary report.
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Fifteen consecutive pediatric patients ranging from 3 to 5 years old were selected to receive one of three sedative/hypnotic techniques. Group 1 received oral chloral hydrate 50 mg/kg, and groups 2 and 3 received intramuscular ketamine 2 mg/kg and 3 mg/kg, respectively. In addition to ketamine, patients in groups 2 and 3 received transmucosal intramuscular injections of meperidine and promethazine into the masseter muscle. Sedation for the satisfactory completion of restorative dentistry was obtained for over 40 min on average in the chloral hydrate group, but completion of dental surgery longer than 40 min was achieved in groups 2 and 3 only by intravenous supplements of ketamine. (+info)
Ketamine: review of its pharmacology and its use in pediatric anesthesia.
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The management of the uncooperative pediatric patient undergoing minor surgical procedures has always been a great challenge. Several sedative techniques are available that will effectively alleviate anxiety, but short of general anesthesia, no sedative regimen is available that will enable treatment of the uncooperative child. Ketamine produces a unique anesthetic state, dissociative anesthesia, which safely and effectively enables treatment of these children. The pharmacology, proposed mechanisms of action, and clinical use of ketamine (alone and in combination with other agents) are reviewed and evaluated. (+info)
A community strategy for Medicaid child dental services.
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OBJECTIVES: The authors present second-year utilization data and first- and second-year cost data for a community-based program in Spokane County, Washington, designed to increase access to dental care for Medicaid-enrolled children from birth to 60 months of age. METHODS: The authors used Medicaid eligibility and claims data for 18,727 children 5 years of age and younger to determine utilization of dental care from January 15, 1996, through January 15, 1997. They also used accounting records from the agencies involved to calculate the first- and second-year costs of the program. RESULTS: A child in the ABCD program was 7.2 times as likely to have at least one dental visit as a Medicaid-enrolled child not in the program. Estimated costs per child with at least one dental visit (in 1995 dollars) were $54.30 for the first year and $44.38 for the second year, or $20.09 per enrolled child for the first year and $18.77 for the second year. CONCLUSION: Public-private joint efforts are effective in improving access to dental care for Medicaid-enrolled children. (+info)
Oral care for children with leukaemia.
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OBJECTIVES: To review the oral care regimens for children with acute leukaemia, and to present an easy-to-follow oral care protocol for those affected children. DATA SOURCES: Medline and non-Medline search of the literature; local data; and personal experience. STUDY SELECTION: Articles containing supportive scientific evidence were selected. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were extracted and reviewed independently by the authors. DATA SYNTHESIS: Cancer is an uncommon disease in children, yet it is second only to accidents as a cause of death for children in many countries. Acute leukaemia is the most common type of malignancy encountered in children. The disease and its treatment can directly or indirectly affect the child's oral health and dental development. Any existing lesions that might have normally been dormant can also flare up and become life-threatening once the child is immunosuppressed. Proper oral care before, during, and after cancer therapy has been found to be effective in preventing and controlling such oral complications. CONCLUSION: Proper oral care for children with leukaemia is critical. Long-term follow-up of these children is also necessary to monitor their dental and orofacial growth. (+info)
Safe orthodontic bonding for children with disabilities during general anaesthesia.
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General anaesthesia (GA) may be employed to overcome management difficulties in the orthodontic treatment of disabled children. This report introduces the application of a rubber dam as a useful aid for a high quality bonding and as an effective safeguard in bonding of brackets in general anaesthesia, in the handicapped in particular. GA was used in 12 patients, of a cohort of 49 disabled patients, to facilitate the placing of the fixed appliance. The first seven were bonded solely with the use of an oropharyngeal pack and a high velocity suction to prevent aspiration, and the last five additionally underwent placement of a rubber dam. The use of a rubber dam to facilitate the safe and reliable bonding of orthodontic brackets in handicapped children under general anaesthesia is highly recommended. (+info)
Predicting population dental disease experience at a small area level using Census and health service data.
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BACKGROUND: Information on the dental disease patterns of child populations is required at a small area level. At present, this can be provided only by expensive whole population surveys. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of Census data combined with health service information to provide estimates of population dental disease experience at the small area level. METHOD: Clinical dental data were collected from a large cross-sectional survey of 5-year-old children. A preliminary series of bivariate linear regression analyses were undertaken at ward level with the mean number of decayed, missing or filled teeth per child (dmft) as the dependent variable, and the Census and health service and lifestyle variables suspected of having a strong relationship with dmft as independent variables. This was followed by fitting a multiple linear regression model using a stepwise procedure to include independent variables that explain most of the variability in the dependent variable dmft. RESULTS: All deprivation indicators derived from the Census showed a highly significant (p<0.001) bivariate linear relationship with ward dmft. The Jarman deprivation score gave the highest R2 value (0.45), but the Townsend index (R2=0.43) and the single Census variable 'percentage of households with no car' (R2 = 0.42) gave very similar results. The health and lifestyle indicators also showed highly significant (p<0.001) linear relationships with dmft. The R2 values were generally much lower than the deprivation-related Census variables, with the exception of the percentage of residents who smoked (R2 = 0.42). None of the health or lifestyle variables was included in the final dental disadvantage model. This model explained 51 per cent of the variability of ward dmft. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate the strong relationship between dental decay and deprivation, and all of the commonly used measures of deprivation exhibited a similar performance. For this population of young children health and health services shelf data did not improve on the ability of deprivation-related Census variables to predict population dental caries experience at a small area level. (+info)