Medical conditions and medication use in a U.S. dental school clinic population.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to characterize coexisting medical conditions and medication use in patients treated at a US dental school in 2010 and to assess their implications on providing dental care. STUDY DESIGN: Data on the types and prevalence of self-reported medical conditions and the use of medications were extracted from the electronic health records of 1797 adult patients and compared against their socioeconomic status (SES). RESULTS: Within this sample, 8.7% were classified as American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status (PS) 1. The remainder were designated PS 2 to PS 4 for smoking, having one or more medical conditions that ranged from myasthenia gravis (<1%) to hypertension (24%), or both. Medications for hypertension were the most frequently reported (23%), followed by more than 40 other classes of drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Dental practitioners must be prepared to treat larger numbers of older patients, whose life expectancies continue to increase as advances in pharmacotherapeutics and biomedical technologies improve the control of their chronic medical conditions.

Self-report of latex allergy by patients visiting a dental clinic.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of latex allergy among dental patients is not known, although it has been increasing in the population since 1982, when the use of gloves was expanded to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was undertaken of 1,798 electronic health records (EHRs) of new clinic patients who registered at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine (SDM) dental clinic between January and June 2010. Data extracted from the EHRs included age, gender, and a history of a previous latex reaction, asthma, or allergy to penicillin. RESULTS: A previous reaction to latex was reported by 59 patients (3.3%). Women were almost three times more likely to report this (4.7% versus 1.6%, P = 0.0005). Histories of asthma or penicillin allergy in women were significantly associated with latex allergy (P = 0.0005 and P = 0.0001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The reported rate of a previous reaction to latex in this patient sample was higher than that of the general population. This may, in part, be related to repeated exposures to latex-containing gloves. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Practitioners are increasingly likely to encounter patients who have had a reaction to latex. Non-latex products must be available for these patients, who are more likely to be women and individuals with asthma or an allergy to penicillin.