Educating Parents of Children Receiving Comprehensive Dental Care Under General Anesthesia With Visual Aids

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if educating parents with visual aids after their child's treatment under general anesthesia would improve attendance at follow-up appointments, oral health outcomes, and treatment satisfaction. Methods: Fifty-four parent-child dyads were recruited and randomly assigned to two groups. The control group received verbal education, and the intervention group received verbal and visual education. Oral health was measured using the Gingival Index and the Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) before and after the treatment. Parent surveys were administered before and after treatment. Results: Seventy-eight percent of the intervention group and 52 percent of the control group returned for follow-up appointments (P=.04). The plaque index decreased (P<.01); the reported brushing frequency increased for all children from baseline to follow-up visit (P=.02). The satisfaction increased only for parents in the intervention group over time (P=.04). Conclusions: Using visual aids had a positive impact on patient attendance at follow-up and parents' treatment satisfaction. There was an improvement in oral hygiene, as measured by the OHI-S, and an increase in brushing frequency for all children, regardless of whether their parents were educated with or without a visual aid.