Medical Profile of Patients Attending Dental Primary Care Clinics in King Saud University, Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Study.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Oral Medicine, Orofacial Pain, Dental Sleep Medicine College of Dentistry, King Saud University.

2 Dental Student College of Dentistry King Saud University.

Abstract

Background: Advancement of health care was salient which resulted in more people living longer with complex medical conditions seeking dental care.
Objective: To assess the medical profile of patients attending primary dental care clinics in the College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Methods medical records of 312 adult female patients who presented to primary care clinic and filled the standardized medical questionnaire in the period from 9th of July to 9th of August 2017 were randomly selected and reviewed. Collection of data was done which included demographic data, chief complaint, medications, and current medical condition
Results: The age group ranged from 18 to 77 years old, (28%) of patients have at least one medical condition, and 22.44% of patients are taking medications. The most common medical condition was anemia (11.9%) followed by short of breath (6.1%), chest pain and diabetes mellitus (DM) (5.4%), hepatitis (3.8%), ankle swelling (3.5%), bleeding disorder (2.6%), asthma and arthritis (2.2%), heart trouble (1.0%), Rheumatic arthritis, Kidney trouble, Hepatitis and Cancer (0.3%). Age category (forty-six to fifty-five years old) had the highest rate of medical problems 75%
Conclusion:
Results showed that approximately one-quarter of patients attending the primary dental clinics have a medical problem. It is important that dental practitioners be knowledgeable about the proper management of patients with medical problems. Further studies are recommended to extend the study period.

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