Child oral health-related quality of life following treatment under dental general anaesthetic (DGA)

Data sources: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL and the Cochrane Library.

Study selection: Two independent reviewers selected studies which employed validated QoL instruments, Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) and the Child Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (COHRQoL) questionnaire to evaluate the change in child oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), following dental treatment under general anaesthesia (DGA) for caries.

Data extraction and synthesis: Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane collaboration tool. A meta-analysis was conducted, dividing studies based on the OHRQoL measure used.

Results: Twenty-two research articles were included in the review, which included 12 studies employing each of the two OHRQoL measures. Risk of bias in the included studies varied considerably. An overall improvement in OHRQoL was identified in all studies following DGA. The mean difference in scores post-treatment for ECOHIS and COHRQoL were 1.62 (95% CI 1.52-1.71; P <0.00001; I2 = 0%) and 0.86 (95% CI 0.74-0.99; P <0.00001; I2 = 0%), respectively, with medium to large effect sizes. There was no evidence of heterogeneity.

Conclusions: Treatment under DGA significantly improved the OHRQoL of children, as reported by their parents. The authors suggest that studies of longer than three months are required to assess whether these changes are sustained in the long-term.