Patients with special needs within treatment under general anesthesia - meta-analysis

The study evaluates results obtained from the documentation of patients with special needs, who have undergone treatment under general anesthesia at the pediatric dentistry department. DMFT (decayed, missing, filled teeth) was used for comparison. A sample of 1,836 children from our dental clinic was evaluated. The sample was divided into two groups - special patient and disabled patient populations. A group of 5 years old children was chosen on the bases of WHO guidelines for the setting of the oral health status. A descriptive statistical analysis of the mean standard deviation was conducted with a focus on three factors: sex, age and year. A questionnaire was prepared to compare the oral health habits in the families of the patients. A literary review was conducted to compare the results with other studies from various countries. The meta-analysis using the software MedCalc was done. The DMFT of the patient was counted (disabled DMFT 11.05 - SD 4.82, special patient population 8.8 - SD 3.7) and the descriptive statistics mean standard deviation was calculated. The significant difference between the DMFT of disabled patient and special patient population was exerted (p<0.00003). It was statistically evaluated that the data gained from the studies and from the WHO as population average for 5 years old children are situated under the minimum limit of the confidence interval for our study. The meta-analysis confirmed the hypothesis that oral health status of the special needs children is worse than in other countries.