Cross-sectional Analysis of Emergency Dental Pediatric Patients and Proposal of Guidance for Clinical Management.

AIM: This study aims primarily to investigate the characteristics of pediatric patients seeking emergency dental care and the according treatment in a specialized dental service and secondly to propose a data-based guidance for the management of dental emergencies in children.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Records of the demographic and clinical characteristics of 332 children who attended specialized dental clinics seeking emergency dental care were collected. Statistical analysis was carried out. Based on the data, a proposal for management of emergency/pain patients was introduced.

RESULTS

Pain patients were high caries risk children (mean: 4.59 ± 3.65 dmft, 1.65 ± 2.73 DMFT). The main clinical diagnoses of pain patients in all different age groups were dental caries (63.6%). In general, the most frequent treatment was extraction (41.0%), and the most of these extractions needed to be performed under sedation (57.3%). Based on the analyzed data, a proposal for the management of emergency/pain patients was formulated.

CONCLUSION

Dental caries was the main cause of emergency or pain-related dental visits among children, with tooth extraction under sedation being the common treatment. It is essential for general practitioners and specialized pedodontists to construct a treatment plan that not only manages the patient's pain but also considers the long-term effects of the treatment on the patient's future cooperation.