Evaluation of therapeutic effect and health economics of general anesthesia and routine outpatient dental treatment in children with severe early child caries.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and health economics of the comprehensive therapy for the children with severe early child caries (S-ECC) under dental general anesthesia (DGA) and conventional outpatient treatment to provide references for dentists and parents in the choice of clinical treatment.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on S-ECC children aged 36-71 months and who received dental treatment under general anesthesia or routine outpatient situation. The filled tooth survival rate, treatment cost, and cost-filled tooth survival time of the two groups were compared, and the curative effect and health economics was evaluated.

Results: The filled tooth survival rate of the DGA group was higher than that of the routine outpatient group (P<0.05). The average direct medical cost per filled tooth was significantly higher in the DGA group than in the routine outpatient group (P<0.05). The direct medical cost-filled tooth survival time ratio in the DGA group was higher than that in the routine outpatient group (P<0.05), but no significant difference was observed in the total medical cost-filled tooth survival time ratio (P>0.05).

Conclusions: Compared with the conventional outpatient treatment group, the treatment outcomes of S-ECC under general anesthesia were better, and the costs were higher. However, no significant difference was observed in the total medical cost-filled tooth survival time between these two groups, and the conventional outpatient treatment did not have evident economic advantages.