What preventive care do sedated children with caries referred to specialist services need?

Introduction Few studies have assessed the preventive needs of children treated under conscious sedation or their parents'/guardians' views regarding oral health education.Aim To report on the profile of children who required treatment under conscious sedation. Also to obtain the views of the parents or guardians of these children on their experiences of oral health preventive services and the support they would like in order to improve their child's oral health.Method A researcher-administered questionnaire was used to collect quantitative and qualitative responses from a consecutive sample of 123 parents/guardians during their child's sedation appointment at King's College Hospital.Results Caries was the main reason for the child's sedation treatment and 77.2% of them were high caries risk. Parents reported that their general dentist had given advice about sugar (80%) and tooth-brushing (74%), but few had prescribed fluoride varnish (15%), fissure sealants (12%) or a fluoride rinse (36%). Parents felt challenged by the ready availability of sugar, and others suggested difficulty in maintaining healthy oral habits in complex families. Overall, the majority of parents thought leaflets, health professionals' advice, and Internet websites could be informative, and they requested school- and hospital-based prevention programmes.Discussion The majority of children had high caries risk. They had received advice but not professional preventive treatment such as fluoride varnish and fissure sealants. Their parents requested preventive education using new technologies and media and better access through school-based and hospital prevention programmes.