CRITERIA FOR SELECTING SPECIAL HEALTH CARE NEEDS PATIENTS FOR GENERAL ANESTHESIA IN DENTAL TREATMENT: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Objective:This systematic review aimed to investigate the available evidence on how to decide whether your special health care needs patient needs GA for dental treatments or not. Materials and methods:A systematic search was conducted in four electronic databases PubMed, Google Scholar, ResearchGate and SDL. The search was restricted to articles published between 2005 and 2020. Publications reporting on the special health care needs patients dental treatment were included. The papers were analyzed regarding title and abstract contents to eliminate the ones that were out of context and not relevant to the review. Results:The search strategy resulted in 99 unique and potentially relevant articles. In total, 6 publications which include 5 retrospective articles and one cross-sectional study were selected. Conclusions:The main standards for selecting patients for hospitalized dental treatments include a full analysis of SNP including their medical history, behavior and emotional factors, oral health status, allergies, social and non-clinical factors, and caregivers factors. It is important for general dentists and families of these patients to be acquainted with the procedure, its need, and its contraindications.

Provision of dental services for vulnerable groups: a scoping review on children with special health care needs

Background The provision of dental services for children with special health care needs (CSHCN) needs to be considered by policymakers. This study is aimed to explore the determinant factors affecting dental and oral services provision for this vulnerable group. Methods A review was conducted applying the 9-steps approach. Five scientific databases of PUBMED, SCOPUS, Web of Science and PROQUEST and EMBASE were searched up to 10.07.2021, applying appropriate keywords. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the extracted data, and a conceptual map was developed according to JBI manual for evidence synthesis. Results From the abstracts of the 136 articles that fulfilled the inclusion criteria, 56 articles were included. Five main themes were identified as determinants affecting the provision of dentistry services for CSHCN, including needs assessment, policy advice, oral health interventions, providers’ perception and access barriers. According to the developed conceptual map, assessing the needs of CSHCN can lead to particular policy advice. Regarding the policies, appropriate oral health interventions can be presented. These interventions, along with providers’ perception about service delivery to CSHCN and the barriers to access them, determine the provision of dentistry services for CSHCN. Conclusions An effective needs assessment of CSHCN and their parents/carers can lead to evidence-informed policymaking and applicable policy advice according to the needs. Then policymakers should develop interventions to improve the community’s health literacy, as well as support the seeking behaviours for appropriate services. Policymakers should also consider how to limit the barriers to accessing oral and dental health by CSHCN to decrease disparities.