Abstract
BackgroundRecent studies have reported an association between periodontal disease and mortality among dialysis patients. Therefore, preventive dental care should be considered very important for this population. In Japan, no systematic education has been undertaken regarding the importance of preventive dental care for hemodialysis patients—even though these individuals tend to have oral and dental problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the current state of collaborative relationships between hemodialysis facilities and dental services in Japan and also to identify strategies to encourage preventive dental visits among hemodialysis outpatients.MethodsA nationwide questionnaire on the collaborative relationship between dialysis facilities and dental facilities was sent by mail to all medical facilities in Japan offering outpatient hemodialysis treatment.ResultsResponses were obtained from 1414 of 4014 facilities (35.2%). Among the 1414 facilities, 272 (19.2%) had a dental service department. Approximately 100,000 dialysis outpatients were receiving treatment at these participating facilities, which amounts to one-third of all dialysis patients in Japan. Of those patients, 82.9% received hemodialysis at medical facilities without dental departments. Only 87 of 454 small clinics without in-house dental departments (19.2%) had collaborative registered dental clinics. Medical facilities with registered dental clinics demonstrated a significantly more proactive attitude to routine collaboration on dental matters than facilities lacking such clinics.ConclusionsOur nationwide survey revealed that most dialysis facilities in Japan have neither an in-house dental department nor a collaborative relationship with a registered dental clinic. Registration of dental clinics appears to promote collaboration with dental facilities on a routine basis, which would be beneficial for oral health management in hemodialysis patients.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12882-015-0001-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Recent studies have reported an association between periodontal disease and mortality among dialysis patients
Because dialysis patients need more professional oral health care than other patients, the dental professional is a fundamental provider in their overall management
In Japan, most dental professionals work in private dental clinics: only 12.2% of dentists and 4.7% of dental hygienists are employed in hospitals [10,11]
Summary
Recent studies have reported an association between periodontal disease and mortality among dialysis patients. In Japan, no systematic education has been undertaken regarding the importance of preventive dental care for hemodialysis patients—even though these individuals tend to have oral and dental problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the current state of collaborative relationships between hemodialysis facilities and dental services in Japan and to identify strategies to encourage preventive dental visits among hemodialysis outpatients. Because dialysis patients need more professional oral health care than other patients, the dental professional is a fundamental provider in their overall management. Most medical practitioners must refer patients with oral problems to dental facilities outside their hospitals or clinics. Because hemodialysis patients need to spend 3 days a week receiving dialysis treatment, patients undergoing treatment at hospitals or clinics that do not provide dentistry may often miss preventive dental visits
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