The frequency and the etiology of re‑treatment in patients and candidates for dental procedure under general anesthesia

General anesthesia in dentistry has been widely utilized in cases of uncontrollable fear/anxiety and uncooperative patients, patients of young age, and those allergic to local anesthesia and with other existing systemic diseases. These people usually require re‑treatment owing to their weak immunity. Our study investigates the frequency and the prevalence of re‑treatment in patients and candidates for dental procedure under general anesthesia in Isfahan during 1393–1396.

The present cross‑sectional study randomly chose 162 patients who were candidates for dental procedures. Patients who came in for re‑treatment twice or more during this period were identified and their records were requested from the archives. Demographic data, reason for using general anesthesia, underlying disease, physical condition, and mental condition were all gathered through a questionnaire. The causative etiology of re‑treatment was identified by examining the patients’ medical records including restorations, denervation, tooth extraction, filling, and pulpotomy. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS software (version 25) and tests such as Kolmogorov–Smirnov Z‑test, Spearman, and Chi‑square test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

The findings of the present study showed that 92.25% of patients needed dental re‑treatment during their second visit. The most needed treatment was in the second repair session and the least was related to prosthetics. It was also noted that 42.15% of patients needed dental treatment at the third visit and the highest need for treatment was in the third prosthesis session and the lowest reason was related to tooth restoration and extraction.

The most needed treatment was in the second session of endodontic treatment, and in the third session, tooth extraction was one of the required treatments, which indicates the progression of dental problems in the interval between treatments.