Dental Management of Medically Compromised Patients- A Questionnaire among Dental Practitioner

Abstract

Introduction : An increase in the number of medically compromised patients in dental clinics may cause serious problems for practicing dentists all over the world. When a dentist does not understand well the relationship between oral and systemic diseases, dental care may become a quite complicated issue. Management of the medically compromised patients require acquisition of complete health history as well as dental history of the patient. This should include documentation via questionnaire as well as a verbal history. Preferably an oral history should also be obtained as a review of systems. The dental history should also include questions related to current oral conditions such as periodontal disease or oral ulceration and past dental treatment and potential complications from prior intervention including treatment failure and the delivery of anesthesia or post-treatment medication. The first step in managing the patients with medical problems is acquiring thorough health history of the patients. Aim: The aim of this study is to analyse the knowledge about dental management of medically compromised patients among dental practitioners. Materials and Method: A cross sectional survey was initiated from a randomly chosen population of 100 dental practitioners. Informed consent was obtained from the participants. the survey was conducted online using online survey planet online survey tool. the survey instrument used was a pretested questionnaire comprising of 10 questions eliciting responses pertaining to the dental management of medically compromised patients among dental practitioners. Results: Among 100 dental practitioners 100% of them enquire medical history including medication and allergy, 68% of them obtain vital signs of the patient commencing dental treatment, 50% of them are confident in handling emergency conditions. 82% of them have emergency kit in dental office, 98% of them get consent from the physician before treating medically compromised patients, 62% of them have knowledge about prescribing AHA guidelines of antibiotics for cardiovascular patients, 42% of them said they can efficiently manage patients on 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester and 88% of them are aware of diagnosing oral signs of anemia and management. Conclusion: Dental practitioners have adequate knowledge about managing medically compromised patients in a dental unit. The handling of a medical emergency in a dental office is a skill. One must have hands