Pain-related complaints of paediatric patients after dental treatment under general anaesthesia

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ABSTRACT

Aim

To identify factors related to postoperative pain and to recognise strategies to reduce this pain after dental treatment under general anaesthesia.

Methods

Cross-sectional observational study. Children treated under general ansesthesia reported pain daily using the Wong Baker FACES® Pain Rating Scale. Their parents/caregivers filled in a related Yes/No questionnaire during hospitalisation and the first postoperative week. The duration and severity of pain were evaluated in relation to various factors.

Results

Postoperative intravenous opioid administration was more effective (all: p = 0.02; extraction: p = 0.04) than NSAIDs (all: p = 0.74; extraction: p = 0.78) in pain management. Compared to younger patients, older patients reported increased pain during the postoperative week (duration: p = 0.04; severity: p = 0.04). Treatment time (pain duration all: p < 0.01; extraction: p < 0.01, pain severity all: p = 0.01; extraction: p < 0.01), airway management (pain duration all: p = 0.02; extraction: p = 0.02) severity (all: p = 0.02; extraction: p = 0.02), and class of extracted primary teeth (anterior extraction only, severity of pain (p = 0.03) significantly influenced pain during the postoperative week. Questionnaires to parents revealed prolonged pain among females.

Conclusion

A well-established protocol is indicated to reduce operation time. Patients and their parents should be informed about the possibility of constantly subsiding postoperative pain that may last for a week. As additional local anaesthesia during general anaesthesia (GA) does not provide postoperative pain reduction in deciduous tooth extraction cases, its administration could be omitted.

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