Reported dental PSIs in Finland are in many respects similar to those reported in other countries. Compared to all annual dental visits in Finland, severe dental AEs seem to be relatively rare. Less severe AEs and NMs are not uncommon, especially in dental surgery, endodontic and restorative treatment. The results of this retrospective study, however, reveal more about incident types than their true prevalence and that further studies on dental PS are needed.
Despite some limitations, this register-based study identifies new perspectives on improving safety in dental care. Many PSIs could be prevented through the proper and more systematic use of already available error-prevention methods.
Several PSI prevention techniques are already used in Finland. However, wide variation exists in PSI prevention and risk management practices among Finnish dentists. Systematic implementation of available safety methods would probably prevent several PSIs. The results indicate that the more dentists know about PS risks, the easier it is for them to recognize situations possibly leading to patient harm. Anonymous PSI reports, patient complaints and claims data should, therefore, be actively used for mutual learning. Increased PS education in dentistry is also needed.
This work provides a unique opportunity to learn from several dentistry-related patient complaints. Despite some limitations, patient complaints appear to be useful as a complementary source together with other PS study methods.
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