Abstract
BackgroundIndividuals seeking dental treatment often present with medical conditions which may affect dental treatment provision. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of medical conditions and medication use among individuals attending dental clinics at a Western Australian tertiary institution.MethodsThis observational study examined the general demographics, medical and social histories of 873 subjects presenting for a general dental examination at a Western Australian Tertiary Institution between March 2018 and February 2019. Individual recruited were those presenting to the clinics either as new patients to the Centre or returning patients after an extended period of absence.ResultsPresence of a medical condition was reported by 86% of the participants, with males more commonly affected (p = 0.0448). Medication use was noted by 80% of the participants. Cardiovascular disease (37.9%), allergy (32.3%), mental health disorders (29.4%), musculoskeletal (23.0%), endocrine (22.4%) and respiratory disease (17.8%) were the most common conditions identified. Women were significantly more likely to report allergy (p = 0.0002) or a mental health condition (p = 0.0368).ConclusionMedical comorbidities are common among individuals presenting for student dental treatment in Western Australia, highlighting the importance of knowledge and teaching of internal medicine and its application to the dental setting.
Highlights
Individuals seeking dental treatment often present with medical conditions which may affect dental treatment provision
Grounding in general medicine is essential for the dental students in the modern era; understanding the most commonly encountered medical conditions in the dental setting, has the potential to shift the focus of internal medicine teaching
It is anticipated that results of this study will shed light on the types of comorbidities of dental patients encountered by the dental students during their clinical studies, stimulating discussion around internal medicine content delivery, with the view to better prepare the graduates to deal with the medically compromised patients. This was an observation, cross-sectional study based on examination of existing patient records approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of Western Australia (RA/4/20/4435) and has been reported in accordance with the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement [23]
Summary
Individuals seeking dental treatment often present with medical conditions which may affect dental treatment provision. Grounding in general medicine is essential for the dental students in the modern era; understanding the most commonly encountered medical conditions in the dental setting, has the potential to shift the focus of internal medicine teaching. This may motivate students to learn internal medicine through interest and appreciation of relevance of subjects discussed. Despite fewer studies reporting medication use, the most commonly prescribed medications parallel the most frequently encountered medical problems, with medications used in the management of cardiovascular disease the most commonly reported [6, 7, 13, 15]
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