Silver Diamine Fluoride and Urgent-Care While Awaiting General Anesthesia

Purpose: To examine the role of Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) on urgent care (UC) encounters while awaiting dental care under general anesthesia (GA). Methods: A retrospective chart audit was conducted for patients who were placed on the GA wait list and subsequently received dental treatment under GA between January 1, 2017 and April 30, 2020 in the pediatric dental clinic at the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Dentistry. Variables collected include demographic information, dmft/DMFT score, special needs status, GA waiting period, SDF status, and UC history. Results: A total of 628/1300 charts were included. The average wait time for GA was 349 days (SD 160). The average time between placement on the waitlist and UC encounter was 189 days (SD 158), 177 days for non-SDF group (SD 161), and 201 for SDF group (SD 156), (difference not sig., P=.380). There was a positive correlation between the waiting time for GA and UC encounter (r= .172, P = .000). In total, 134/628 patients returned for at least one UC visit. The most common chief complaint and procedure completed at UC was pain and extraction respectively. 235/628 received SDF at least once. Patients with higher DMFT scores were more likely to receive SDF (tau=.130, P=.000). SDF group were not less likely to have UC encounter. Conclusions: Prolonged waiting time to receive dental care under GA increases the likelihood of having a UC encounter. Although SDF application appears to delay UC encounter, the findings were non-significant.