The evolution of treatment over 80years at the outpatient department of the Viennese school of dentistry.

Abstract

The delivery of oral health services, diagnostics and treatment underwent significant changes in the 20th century thanks to achievements by pioneers in dentistry. The Golden Age of Dentistry in Vienna, Austria, was marked by renowned dentists like Bernhard Gottlieb in the 1930s. Data records from the outpatient department of this period have been found and served as a source from which to draw comparisons between those days and the present. To date, data supporting an overall perception of advances in dentistry during the last century in tooth preservation and patients' demands have been lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in treatments and patient characteristics between the interwar period and the present and to assess how treatments for dental emergencies developed. Patients' records were extracted from books handwritten from January to May 1933 and compared with electronically generated data from the same period in 2013. In total, patient data from 10111 individuals (3878 in 1933 and 6233 in 2013) were analysed. Comparisons were undertaken for gender, age, place of residence, diagnosis and therapy. Various statistically significant demographic and treatment differences were found between 1933 and 2013. Patients' mean ages in 2013 and 1933 were 42 and 31years, respectively. In 2013, there were significantly more women than in 1933 (3378 vs 1936), with 54% women in 2013 and 50% women in 1933. In 2013, there were significantly fewer tooth extractions as dental emergency treatment than in 1933 (2% vs 34%). Treatment in the outpatient department is much more conservative in the 21st century. The characteristics of patients visiting the outpatient department have changed over the generations, and treatment needs should be evaluated accordingly.