Comparison of Intubated Versus Nonintubated Airway Management in Children Under General Anesthesia Provided by Dentist Anesthesiologists.

Purpose: Use of general anesthesia (GA) for comprehensive dental treatment of children is an essential health benefit. Pediatric dentists utilize dentist anesthesiologists to provide GA for dental rehabilitation of severe early childhood caries. Dentist anesthesiologists deliver GA using intubated or nonintubated GA. The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of respiratory complications when intubated versus nonintubated general anesthesia was completed by dentist anesthesiologists in a pediatric dentistry setting. Methods: The Society of Ambulatory Anesthesia (SAMBA) Clinical Outcomes Registry (SCOR) database was queried for pediatric dental GA cases completed by dentist anesthesiologists from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2016. Logistic regression compared intubated GA versus nonintubated GA for differences in the incidence of respiratory complications. Results: Within 9,333 cases, there were 30 incidents of laryngospasm (0.3 percent), 19 incidents of bronchospasm (0.2 percent), two incidents of hypoxia (less than 0.1 percent), and six incidents of difficult airway (0.1 percent). When intubated versus nonintubated GA was compared for respiratory complication incidence, no significant association was found (P=0.81, odds ratio equals 0.93). Conclusion: No significant difference was found between the incidence of respiratory complications with intubated versus nonintubated GA provided by dentist anesthesiologists.