Dental Consultations and Treatment Pattern of Pediatric Inpatient in Severance Hospital / 대한소아치과학회지

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to analyze the dental consultation of pediatric inpatients to the department of pediatric dentistry in Yonsei University Severance Hospital, and to investigate the change in patterns. In 2017, 268 pediatric patients (384 cases) admitted to the Severance Hospital were referred to the department of pediatric dentistry. The mean age was 6.6 years, and most of the patients were referred from the Department of Pediatric Hematology Oncology and Rehabilitation Medicine. The chief complaints were as follows oral examination (31%), dental caries (20%), oral pain (10%), tooth mobility (10%), pre-operative evaluation (9%) and others (20%). 41% of the patients received only oral examination without treatment. Dental caries were the most frequent dental diagnosis of the patients. 28% (111 cases) of patients received operative treatments, 22 cases were treated under general anesthesia. Oral health is closely related to systemic diseases, especially for hospitalized patients. Dental consultations should be encouraged for prevention and early appropriate treatments. For this purpose, it is necessary to establish a referral system and perform dental treatment under general anesthesia.