182 - Caries Rates After Treatment in the Operating Room for Dental Rehabilitation

Title: Caries Rates After Treatment in the Operating Room for Dental Rehabilitation
Biernacki I, Miller R
NYU Langone, Holyoke, MA


Purpose: The purpose of this project was to determine if there is a significant difference in change of DMFT scores between patients from Holyoke Health Center that had a regular recall versus irregular recall schedule after being treated for early childhood caries in the operating room under general anesthesia under 4 years of age.


Methods: A quality improvement project was conducted to investigate the change in DMFT scores between patients of Holyoke Health Center that were treated in the operating room under general anesthesia under the age of 4 years between 2012-2019. Patients were grouped by their recall schedule—regular (seen every 6-8 months) vs. irregular. DMFT scores were calculated at initial time of being treated in the OR and after 3 year follow-up. The change in DMFT scores were documented and compared between groups.


Results: Fifty-six patients were included in the project. There was not a statistically significant difference between change in average DMFT scores between patients that were seen for regular recalls versus irregular recalls over a 3 year follow up period.


Conclusion: The majority of the patients (53 of the 56) had an irregular recall schedule, being seen nine or more months apart, and this may have skewed results of this project. This shows that providers may have to place more emphasis to return for regular exams. Further projects should be done to investigate risk factors for caries relapse at full mouth dental rehabilitation.

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