[Dental accidents in relation to general anesthesia. Experience of mutual medical insurance group].

This article reviewed retrospectively 511 cases of dental damage reported to the French group for medical insurances from 1990 to 1995, and representing 40% of all accidents related to anaesthesia. The mean incidence rate was 9.5 accidents/100 anaesthetists/year and tended to decrease over time. The part of cases qualified as being linked to a fault was high and mainly due to the lack of dental examination and of informed consent during the preanaesthetic assessment. Although the mean cost of a dental accident is low compared with other anaesthetic accidents, the global cost is substantial considering their high incidence.