Routine Dental Care under General Anesthesia May Lead to Higher Healthcare Costs: Is There a Better Way?

By: Irene Tanzman Part 1 of 2 in series… Children and adults with special needs often have routine dental care under general anesthesia. Prominent dental schools all over the US teach dental students that this is the way to treat severe special needs individuals who cannot tolerate routine dental procedures. These individuals may appear to have limited understanding. Just knock them out every two years or so, and do all the dental work under general anesthesia. With this plan in place we never really know the status of the individual’s dental hygiene until they are under general anesthesia. So what.

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