Comparative Burden of Acute Oral and Respiratory Illness in Children

Objective: To examine the burden of acute dental pain in an outcome based survey of variables of direct medical costs, and indirect costs such as days lost from school/work, and quality of life impact. Oral health is a universal problem but may be considered a low priority for policy-makers due to perceived low morbidity.

Methods: This IRB approved study occurred through surveys in two distinct locations with Nationwide Children's Hospital. A sample of subjects was recruited from both the Dental Clinic emergency walk-in service and the Emergency Department. Inclusion criteria included;

1. 5-18 years old

2. Pain resulting exclusively from tooth decay OR report of acute asthma symptoms

3. ASA I or II, with extent of status determined by asthma

Variables were analyzed using logistic regression and Tukey-Kramer pair-wise analysis, for both inter-group and intra-group analysis.

Results: Data from 78 patients were included in this analysis. There were minimal differences in the gender distribution between the dental and asthma groups. 90% of the asthma parents reported routine medical care, while 50% of the dental patients reported the same. 29.4% of parents reported taking their child to the ED for asthma symptoms, compared to 16% for the dental parents.

Parents missed a mean of two days of work to manage dental pain, compared to one day for asthma parents. 43.2% of parents reported they were “very worried” about their child's health because of dental pain. 11.8% of asthma parents reported the same. Parents tended to wait more than 24 hours to have dental pain addressed (59%) with 29.5% waiting more than 48 hours. While the asthma parents tended to wait less than 24 hours to have asthma issues addressed (47.1%)

Conclusion: There are associated morbidities from acute dental pain that are comparable to medical conditions such as asthma