Experience of special care patients receiving dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia at King Saud University Dental University Hospital.

This study looked at how long children with special needs wait for dental treatment under general anesthesia. On average, families waited about 10 months from their first appointment to surgery. Children with ADHD waited longest (over 14 months) while autistic children waited about 9 months. The researchers found that limited operating rooms and not enough specialized dentists cause these long delays.

This retrospective study examined waiting times for dental rehabilitation under general anesthesia among 210 patients with special healthcare needs at a university dental hospital. The average waiting time from initial screening to pre-anesthesia assessment was approximately 10 months, with significant variation by diagnosis. ADHD patients experienced the longest delays (14.29 months) while autism spectrum disorder patients had shorter waits (9.29 months). Average surgery duration was 214 minutes.

The study identified systemic barriers including limited operating room availability and insufficient specialized professionals as contributing factors to prolonged waiting times and treatment variability.

Findings highlight critical access barriers for special needs dental care. The 10-month average delay and diagnostic variations suggest need for service capacity expansion, improved resource allocation, and potentially different care pathways for various special healthcare needs populations.

Single-center retrospective design limits generalizability. No comparison with typical waiting times or explanation for diagnostic differences in wait times. Limited detail on patient complexity or treatment needs that might justify variations in scheduling.

Patients with special healthcare needs (SHCN) face significant challenges in accessing dental rehabilitation services, particularly under general anesthesia (GA). This study examined the waiting time from screening to pre-anesthesia appointments and association between demographics and clinical factors with the waiting time among the SHCN patients treated at xxx Dental University Hospital. This retrospective study included 210 SHCN patients who had full mouth rehabilitation under GA. Analysis of the collected data showed that the average waiting time from clinical first visit screening appointment to pre-anesthesia clinic assessment was 10.06 ± 12.49 months while average complete dental rehabilitation surgery duration was 213.80 ± 101.98 min.

ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) patients had the highest waiting time, while ASD (autism spectrum disorder) patients had the least waiting time, which was 14.29 and 9.29 months respectively. Findings indicate that systemic barriers, such as limited operating room (OR) availability and a lack of specialized professionals, contribute to prolonged waiting times and variability in treatment experiences. The study highlights the need for targeted reforms and tailored care approaches to improve access and outcomes for SHCN patients.