An Audit of Dental General Anaesthetic Referral from a General Dental Practice in South Wales

Aims The aim of this audit was to quantify the number of patients that received a dental general anaesthetic (DGA) between 1999 and 2007 following referral from a general dental practice. It also aimed to establish the deprivation status of those referred and to investigate further dental treatment pathways of these patients. Methods Data were collected from all patient records held by the practice. The information collected included: postcode, gender, age at the close of the study, age at time of DGA, reason for DGA, number of teeth extracted, and details of further ongoing care. In the absence of individual level socioeconomic data, a deprivation score (derived from the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation [WIMD]) was appended to each record in order to provide a measure of deprivation based on the postcode of the patient. Results Two hundred and eighty-seven patients were referred for DGA during the nine-year period. Their mean age was 9.4 years (95% confidence interval [CI] = 8.4, 10.4) and 30.7% were children aged five years or younger. The most common reason for DGA was dental caries. The mean number of teeth extracted was 4.5 (95% CI = 4.1, 4.9). Patients living in deprived areas were more likely to be referred for DGA. Of the 87 who did not subsequently attend for continuing care, 72 were from deprived areas compared with 15 from more affluent areas ( P=0.003). Conclusions In proportion to the number of patients registered at a practice, the number of referrals for DGAs was relatively low. Patients categorised as deprived (based on their residential postcode) received more referrals for DGAs than those from more affluent areas. Patients from deprived locations were significantly more likely not to attend for continuing care after their DGA than those from more affluent areas.

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A Case-Control Study of Differences between Regular and Casual Adult Attenders in General Dental Practice

Primary Dental Care ◽

10.1308/135576101771799407 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol os8 (1) ◽

pp. 35-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Clive Bullock ◽

Elizabeth Boath ◽

Martyn Lewis ◽

Kirsty Gardam ◽

Peter Croft

Keyword(s):

Oral Health ◽

Social Class ◽

Bone Loss ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Case Control ◽

Dental Practice ◽

Oral Health Promotion ◽

General Dental Practice ◽

Number Of Teeth ◽

Control Study

Objectives To assess whether adults attending a dental practice for regular dental care have better oral health than adults attending casually in response to a dental problem, and to explore the barriers to asymptomatic attendance. Methods An observational case-control study comparing the characteristics of 100 regular attenders with 100 casual attenders in one general dental practice in North Staffordshire. All study subjects were aged 18 years or over. Sociodemographic characteristics of the two groups were collated, including age, gender, social class, marital status, employment status and smoking status. The primary outcome measure was the observed number of teeth with dentinal caries diagnosed using bitewing radiographs. Results Regular attenders were observed to have better oral health with respect to dental caries and tooth mobility (p<0.05). This was not explained by the observation that casual attenders were more likely than regular attenders to be male, aged 18–44 years, in social class III or IV. Secondary outcomes, including number of subjects with mobile teeth and teeth with >30% bone-loss, were also significantly worse in the casual attenders. However, the median number of teeth present in both groups was 27. In regular attenders, the most common reason for attending was to ‘keep the teeth’ (96%). In casual attenders, ‘fear/dislike of dental treatment’ was the most frequent indicator of non-attendance (56%). Conclusions In our study, adults who regularly attended general dental practice were shown to have better oral health, including less overall tooth decay, mobility and bone-loss, compared with adults who did not attend on a regular basis. Assuming this result to be externally valid, a challenge for the dental profession in the future will be to develop effective oral health promotion initiatives.

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Therapeutics

Oxford Handbook of Clinical Dentistry ◽

10.1093/med/9780199679850.003.0013 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 574-602

Author(s):

David A. Mitchell ◽

Laura Mitchell ◽

Lorna McCaul

Keyword(s):

Dental Treatment ◽

Antiviral Drugs ◽

Dental Practice ◽

Hospital Practice ◽

General Dental Practice ◽

Inflammatory Drugs ◽

Anti Inflammatory

Contents. Prescribing. Analgesics in general dental practice. Analgesics in hospital practice. Anti-inflammatory drugs. Antidepressants. Antiemetics. Anxiolytics, sedatives, hypnotics, and tranquillizers. Antibiotics—1. Antibiotics—2. Antifungal and antiviral drugs. Antihistamines and decongestants. Drugs influencing dental treatment. Miscellaneous. Alarm bells.

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The Reduction of Broken Appointments in General Dental Practice

Primary Dental Care ◽

10.1308/135576100322578889 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol os7 (4) ◽

pp. 141-144 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Piyush Patel ◽

Michael Forbes ◽

John Gibson

Keyword(s):

Patient Information ◽

Dental Treatment ◽

Dental Practice ◽

Target Groups ◽

Simple Modification ◽

New Methods ◽

General Dental Practice ◽

Practice Population ◽

Financial Income

Purpose of study Accumulation of time lost because of broken appointments in general dental practice can lead to an inefficiently-run practice and may also lead to reduced financial income. This study assessed the reasons for patients failing to attend and analysed the effect of two simple interventions in reducing the numbers of broken appointments. Basic procedures This study audited the causes of broken appointments in a Glasgow dental practice over a four-month period and, in a second four-month period, analysed the effect of using two new methods of patient information in reducing the number of broken appointments in two target groups of the practice population. Main findings The majority of patients failing to attend for dental treatment were unemployed. Simple changes to recall letters and appointment cards significantly reduced the rates of failed appointments in patients attending the practice. Principal conclusions Simple modification to existing practice systems (recall letters and appointment cards) led to a statistically significant reduction in the number of broken appointments.

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Oral Ill-health and Deprivation among Patients of a General Dental Practice in South Wales

Primary Dental Care ◽

10.1308/135576102322492972 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol os9 (3) ◽

pp. 105-112 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Wayne Richards

Keyword(s):

Oral Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Status Indicators ◽

Routine Care ◽

Oral Health Status ◽

Dental Practice ◽

Dental Patients ◽

General Dental Practice ◽

South Wales ◽

Deprived Areas

Purpose of study This study aims to establish and report on whether individuals from deprived areas suffer more ill health than adults from areas considered not to be deprived when visiting a general dental practice. Basic procedures Between December 1998 and June 1999 registered dental patients over 18 years of age attending for routine care completed a questionnaire measuring functional, experiential and psychosocial impact of oral ill health. In addition the clinical impact of ill health was established from the patient examination and record card. Clinical outcome was assessed by numbers of standing teeth, oral health was assessed using the Subjective Oral Health Status Indicators (SOHSI). The patient's postcode was used to categorise individuals from areas of different deprivation states. Main findings 99% were dentate with 88.4% having more than 20 teeth. A total of 71.8% were able to eat satisfactorily, 88.2% were able to speak satisfactorily, 54.6% were discontent, 99.4% were worried about their oral health and appearance, 62.8% were satisfied with their oral health, 44.8% experienced discomfort, 65.8% experienced other symptoms, and 86.8% experienced ‘general well-being’. No differences were observed for clinical measures between the deprived groups. Only three out of eight oral health measures showed any differences between the deprived groups, namely, ability to speak, discontent and general well-being. More individuals from deprived areas experienced these impacts. Principal conclusions It was anticipated that individuals from deprived areas would experience greater ill-health: this outcome was not as marked as expected.

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