Descriptive study of the patients treated at the clinic integrated dentistry for patients with special needs at Complutense University of Madrid (2003-2012)

Abstract

Objectives: To study clinical and epidemiological characteristics of the patients treated at the clinic “Integrated Dentistry for Patients with Special Needs (Special Care Dentistry)” at Complutense University of Madrid (UCM), as well as to know the dental treatments performed in these patients and the modifications from the usual treatment protocol. The information obtained from the results could also be applied in order to assess the needs of dental students education about this type of patients. Study Design: Medical records review of all the patients referred to the clinic of “Integrated Dentistry for Patients with Special Needs”, performing a retrospective cross-sectional study analyzing their main pathology, ASA risk score (Classification system used by the American Society of Anesthesiologists to estimate the risk posed by the anesthesia for various patient conditions), pharmacological treatment, what kind of dental treatment was necessary, whether the patient was treated or not, and if it was required to change any procedure due to the patient health status (sedation or antibiotic prophylaxis). Results: The number of patients referred to the clinic was 447, of whom 426 were included in this study. Out of them, 52,35 % were men and 47,89 were women, with a mean age of 49,20 years. More frequent pathologies were cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases (24,29 %), infectious diseases (12,41%), endocrine diseases (11,66%) and intellectual disability (8,85%). 70’18% of the patients were treated, with sedation being necessary in 9,03% of the cases and antibiotic prophylaxis in 11,70%. Conclusions: Given the high number of patients with some kind of pathology and the amount of medicines that they use, it seems necessary for dentistry students to have a specific training regarding how to handle and treat these patients, so they will be able to provide them the best possible care. Key words:Patients with special needs, medically compromised patients, dental treatment, special care dentistry.

Profile of Patients with Special Needs Assisted at a Brazilian University

“…It was found that, in relation to gender, the percentage of female PSNs was higher in relation to males, disagreeing with other studies published in scientific literature performed in dental specialties centers, university dental clinics and dental outpatient clinics of hospitals and pediatric rehabilitation centers of Feira de Santana (Bahia) [4], São Paulo (São Paulo) [5], Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul) [9], Niterói (Rio de Janeiro) [10], Natal (Rio Grande do Norte) [7,12] and Madrid (Spain) [13]. The greater demand of women for dental treatment seems to be related to their greater concern with general and oral health [3,14,15].…”

Changes of students’ understanding in the systemic improvement by dental treatment after undergraduate clinical training in Japan

“…Dental patients with systemic diseases that require an accurate knowledge of pathogenesis have been increasing [8,9]. In order to diagnose and treat these patients correctly, dentists need to be familiar with cardiovascular, respiratory, immune, endocrine, metabolic diseases, etc.…”

Assessment of antiplaque effectiveness of chlorhexidine‐soaked gauze compared to chlorhexidine mouth rinse: Randomized clinical trial

“…Regarding future trials, it would be interesting to compare the use of the DB and other digital tools as a substitute for toothbrushing. Indeed, it would be noteworthy to evaluate the effects of these tools, initially in periodontally‐healthy patients, and then in patients with diverse systemic chronic diseases, elderly patients with several pathologies, and patients with physical or mental disabilities, who have difficulties in managing motor skills and find home dental care complicated . Some of these individuals are not self‐sufficient with oral hygiene procedures and often do not collaborate with caregivers, which create barriers in providing consistent and thorough oral hygiene instructions to these patients.…”

“…Some of these individuals are not self‐sufficient with oral hygiene procedures and often do not collaborate with caregivers, which create barriers in providing consistent and thorough oral hygiene instructions to these patients. Caregivers often resort to the use of cotton swabs and gauzes for cleaning patients’ teeth and gums …”

“…Chlorhexidine‐based mouth rinses (CM) are widely used and have proved to be potent antiseptics . In combination with brushing, CM are effective in controlling plaque and gingivitis . Moreover, the use of CM is recommended, especially in periodontitis‐affected patients and after oral and periodontal surgeries…”