Consolidating human disease learning in the Dental Emergency Clinic

Abstract

Dental undergraduates typically learn and are assessed on aspects of human disease (HD) in the early part of their programme, but it is not until later in the programme that their HD knowledge is put into practice when they provide courses of treatment for numerous patients over multiple visits. The teaching of HD provides core knowledge on medical conditions & medications and is therefore essential in allowing newly graduated dentists to provide safe treatment for medically-compromised patients or those taking medications. We wanted to examine the medical complexity of patients attending a university hospital dental emergency clinic to determine whether this was a suitable group that would help students to consolidate their HD learning in the context of a single visit where treatment was also provided. Materials and methods:We examined the medical history of 200 patients attending the dental emergency clinic in the University Dental Hospital, Cardiff using a previous study as a benchmark. Anonymous data was collected using the medical history proforma, and included age, gender, medications, types and number of medical conditions/disorders. Results:Patients attending the clinic were more medically complex that those in the comparator study and the demographics reflect wider population data showing increasing numbers of older patients with greater medical morbidity. Discussion/Conclusions:The emergency dental clinic is the place where most patients are new to the hospital, have a dental history, medical history, investigations, diagnosis and treatment in a single visit, and offers excellent opportunities for consolidating HD learning in a one-stop clinical treatment episode, guided by suitable instructors.

Medical history complexity of patients attending dental student restorative treatment clinics compared with dental emergency clinics

“…In a previous paper, 14 we looked at the complexity of the medical histories of 200 patients who were attending a dental emergency clinic, with the focus on whether that clinic was a place where undergraduate dental students could consolidate their learning in human disease (medicine and surgery) whilst also delivering a complete care package: history, medical history, clinical examination, investigations, diagnosis, treatment plan and treatment provided—all in a single episode/appointment.…”

“…We used a similar study carried out at Cardiff University Dental Hospital and School which looked at the medical complexity of 200 patients attending for urgent dental care as a comparator study, using the same methods for data collection and analysis 14 . We also matched the time period of attendance for patient's data collection to allow for direct comparison.…”

“…We used a similar study carried out at Cardiff University Dental Hospital and School which looked at the medical complexity of 200 patients attending for urgent dental care as a comparator study, using the same methods for data collection and analysis. 14 We also matched the time period of attendance for patient's data collection to allow for direct comparison. Following appropriate institutional approval, we collected the medical history and medication data from just over 200 patients attending dental student restorative treatment clinics beginning in January 2020.…”

“…In a previous paper, 14 we looked at the complexity of the medical histories of 200 patients who were attending a dental emergency clinic, with the focus on whether that clinic was a place where undergraduate dental students could consolidate their learning in human disease (medicine and surgery) whilst also delivering a complete…”