Incidence of temperature elevations after a full mouth dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia

Fifty-seven patients underwent a full-mouth dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children. Thirty-eight subjects had complete data collected to monitor for temperature elevation. Nineteen subjects were discarded from the study due to incomplete data. The results showed 45 percent (seventeen subjects) had a significant temperature elevation to 38 degrees C or above. Sex of the subject made no difference. The significance temperature elevations occurred in the younger age-groups, especially in the one- to-five-year age-group. In the subjects with a significant temperature elevation after surgery, no definite pattern was evident as to when it would occur or how long it would last. The study population was divided into two groups, one with a significant temperature elevation to 38 degrees C or above, and the control group with temperatures below 38 degrees C. These groups were then compared to see whether their preoperative Oral Hygiene Index, Gingival Index, and soft tissue trauma or extraction of teeth showed a difference. No significant difference was found. This study is the first designed specifically to monitor temperature. It reported the highest percentage of subjects (45 percent) to have a postoperative temperature elevation, in comparison to other studies. Although no single factor could be found as the cause of the postoperative temperature elevation, combinations of the factors mentioned or the effects of anesthetic may have caused the elevations.