Anaesthesia and Rehabilitative Considerations for Full Mouth Rehabilitation of Cerebral Palsy Patients: A Case Series

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a central nervous system disorder which is caused due to damage to the developing brain usually occurring in perinatal period. There could be multifactorial etiology with various factors such as maldevelopment of the brain, perinatal stroke, prenatal infection, genetic disorder, ischemic insult in utero or prematurity, thrombophilic disorders, teratogenic exposures, multiple gestations ,maternal fever, exposure to toxins, abdominal trauma, malformation of brain structures, abnormal fetal presentation, instrument delivery, hyperbilirubinemia, meningitis, chronic lung disease, shaken baby syndrome as the possible causes. The children inflicted with CP are at a higher risk for developing oral manifestations such as Early Childhood Caries (ECC) due to poor oral hygiene, intake of soft diet, difficulty in chewing and swallowing and increased use of sugary oral medications. Behavioural challenges due to associated mental retardation demands pharmacological management under General Anaesthesia (GA) and we present a case series of successful management of Severe ECC in five children diagnosed with CP managed with full mouth rehabilitation under GA. The aim is to highlight importance of counselling, preoperative preparation of patients, surgical modalities and postoperative rehabilitation.

Keywords: Intellectual disability; Dental caries; Tooth, Deciduous; Rehabilitation; Central Nervous System Diseases