Clinical relevance of access targets for elective dental treatment under general anesthesia in pediatrics

To evaluate the clinical relevance of access targets for elective dental procedures performed under general anesthesia at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, by assessing incremental changes in the burden of dental disease over wait times for such procedures. Children scheduled for elective dental procedures under general anesthesia were assigned a priority according to the dental diagnosis and the medical risk status. Each priority level was defined by a specific diagnostic code and access target (maximum acceptable wait time). The dental records of children who underwent dental procedures with general anesthesia between June 2005 and December 2008 were assessed retrospectively. A novel assessment scale was used to measure the cumulative burden of dental disease during the waiting period. A total of 378 children (age range 10 months to 17 years) met the inclusion criteria. Statistically significant correlations were identified between disease burden and wait times for priority group IV (access target 90 days) (p=0.004), for the entire sample (p