Hospital dental practice in special patients

Dental treatment under general anesthesia for patients with severe disabilities

Patients with disabilities have difficulties tolerating in-office dental treatment due to limitations relating to cooperation and/or physical problems. Therefore, they often require general anesthesia or sedation to facilitate safe treatment. When deciding on dental treatment under general anesthesia, the plan should be carefully determined because compared to general patients, patients with disabilities are more likely to experience anesthetic complications because of their underlying medical conditions and potential drug interactions. Clinicians prefer simpler and more aggressive dental treatment procedures, such as extraction, since patients with impairment have difficulty maintaining oral hygiene, resulting in a high incidence of recurrent caries or restorative failures. This study aimed to review the available literature and discuss what dentists and anesthesiologists should consider when providing dental treatment to patients with severe disability under general anesthesia.

The dental management of the asthmatic patients

Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory condition characterized by airway inflammation and obstruction. Our increased knowledge and understanding of the etiology and pathogenesis of this condition has widely assisted us in delivering effective therapies. Physicians strive to provide the best treatment modality to achieve symptom-control and minimize the adverse effects of medication use. Nonetheless, patients continue to endure oral complications from the use of asthma medications. As dentists, it is prudent to address these oral complications and promote the oral health of these patients by way of early preventive and therapeutic dental intervention. This must be accomplished by adhering to certain precautionary measures for the sake of avoiding intraoperative problems while optimizing oral care. In this article, we discuss the diagnosis, oral findings, dental care, and emergency management of the asthmatic patients.