Factors contributing to behavioural management failure

Petrović B, Marković D, Blagojević D. Factors contributing to behavioural management failure. Dentopedia.info . 2009 Oct. Available from: http://www.dentopedia.info/biblioteka/stomatologija-kod-osoba-sa-posebnim-poterbama.html

Aim and objective. Behavioural management in children with disability is a desired way of dental treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the reasons and medical conditions resulting in behavioural techniques failure.

Design of the study. Retrospective

Subjects. The hospital records of 118 patients treated under general anaesthesia at the Paediatric Department, Dentistry Clinic, Novi Sad, between 2003 and 2005.

Main outcome measures. Data collection form was used to record the information about behavioural techniques administration, the main reason for treatment under general anasthesia, and medical and dental conditions usually leading to behavioural management failure.

Results. Behavioural techniques could not be administered at all in 60% of treated patients due to severe and profound mental retardation. In 14.5% patients behavioural techniques failed because of the age of the patients and the treatment extent. In 6.8% patients there was no time for behavioural techniques to be administered because of presence of acute dental condition requiring urgent treatment. Autism, Cornelia de Lange and Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome seemed to be resistant to behavioural management, resulting in repeated general anaesthesia dental treatment episodes.

Conclusion. There are many clinical situations where behavioural management is unefficient, but it is difficult to specify the crucial factors that are responsible for that. Regarding this sample, space for future succes of behavioural management depends on decreasing the number of children with advanced caries in multiple teeth.