Parental and Children Anxiety in Paediatric Dental Procedures Under General Anaesthesia

Abstract

Objective: To determine factors responsible for anxiety in children and parents undergoing dental procedures under general anaesthesia.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Anaesthesia, CMH Lahore Medical College, from Sep 2019 to Feb 2020.

Methodology: Ninety-one children aged between 3 to 10 years were included in this study. Parental anxiety was assessed using a visual analogue scale-anxiety before induction of anaesthesia, and child's anxiety was assessed using the modified facial affective scale (3-face) at the time of induction of anaesthesia.

Results: Gender, school-going status and previous exposure to GA were not significant factors in predicting pre-operative anxiety in children with p-values of 0.399, 0.183 and 0.122, respectively. On the other hand, parental anxiety had a very strong impact on children pre-operative anxiety (p-value ˂ 0.001), suggesting that children of anxious parents had high pre-operative anxiety. Moreover, the personality of child also had statistical significance (p-value ˂ 0.001).

Conclusion: Non-social behavior of the child and the anxiety level of parents are major determinants of pre-operative anxiety in children undergoing dental procedures.