Dental general anaesthesia — is there a need for it?

Parents and children are receptive to being steered away from DGA by clinicians willing to do so.Parents and patients appreciate information, explanation and being part of the decisions around the use of GA for dentistry.DGA may be unnecessary for up to three in four of patients referred for uncomplicated extractions, and may not be necessary at all for uncomplicated orthodontic extractions.Careful application of current professional guidance, coupled with a desire to avoid GA can significantly reduce numbers of children going on to have GA.Considerable reduction in future planned provision of DGA may be rather more realistic than has previously been thought to be possible.It is legitimate to start from a premise that DGA will not be used unless there are good reasons to do so.