Table 1. Key child-reported physical and psychological impacts associated with tooth extractions under general anaesthesia, and descriptors employed Impact used period Physical Hunger Pre-operative ‘starving’ Smell of anaesthetic gas nice’, nail varnish’ Peri-operative ‘not ‘like pens’ ‘like Cannula ‘itchy’, ‘hurt’, ‘irritating’ ‘bruised’ Nausea ‘sick’ Oral pain ‘hurt’, ‘sore’ Numbness ‘numb’, ‘funny’, ‘big’, ‘strange’ Dizziness ‘wobbly’, ‘weird’ Bleeding ‘bleeding’ Bleeding Post-operative Tired on sofa’ ‘lay Nausea sick’ ‘felt Difficulty eating Difficulty brushing teeth Oral pain proper pain’, ‘not ‘hurt’, ‘aching’ Psychological Anxiety Pre-operative ‘nervous’ ‘scared’ Anxiety Peri-operative ‘scared’ Sense of achievement it Post-operative ‘brave’, ‘relieved’, ‘glad was over’ Rewarded, given special from the tooth fairy’, ‘money treatment off school’, ‘day ‘toys’, to watch TV’ ‘allowed
Table 1. Key child-reported physical and psychological impacts associated with tooth extractions under general anaesthesia, and descriptors employed period Impact used Physical Pre-operative Hunger ‘starving’ Peri-operative Smell of anaesthetic gas Cannula Nausea Oral pain Numbness Dizziness Bleeding ‘not nice’, ‘like nail varnish’ ‘like pens’ ‘itchy’, ‘hurt’, ‘irritating’ ‘bruised’ ‘sick’ ‘hurt’, ‘sore’ ‘numb’, ‘funny’, ‘big’, ‘strange’ ‘wobbly’, ‘weird’ ‘bleeding’ Post-operative Bleeding Tired Nausea Difficulty eating Difficulty brushing teeth Oral pain ‘lay on sofa’ ‘felt sick’ ‘not proper pain’, ‘hurt’, ‘aching’ Psychological Pre-operative Anxiety ‘nervous’ ‘scared’ Peri-operative Anxiety ‘scared’ Post-operative Sense of achievement Rewarded, given special treatment ‘brave’, ‘relieved’, ‘glad it was over’ ‘money from the tooth fairy’, ‘day off school’, ‘toys’, ‘allowed to watch TV’