Title : An evaluation of the percentage of patients who have received adequate preventative education relating to their risk status for periodontal disease, tooth wear, caries and oral cancer and their risk factors.
Abstract:
Background: Oral diseases affect around 3.5 billion people globally. A vast majority of these diseases are preventable, provided patients have been educated on how to manage their risk factors. The provision of gold-standard preventative care has proven to be challenging especially in developing countries. With a worldwide shift to health promotion and disease prevention, this audit aims to explore patient awareness of their oral disease risk statuses and ways to improve patient education.
Aim and Objective: To assess patients' awareness of their risk status and relevant preventative knowledge for caries, periodontal disease, oral cancer, and tooth wear. To determine which formats of delivering preventative advice are most effective.
Method: 205 adult dental patients participated in a self-administered questionnaire within primary care clinics in London and Portsmouth. Data was then collected and analyzed, with recommendations provided.
Results: Results highlighted that a minority of patients were aware of their risk status for the four dental diseases questioned, whilst the majority of patients would have liked to have been informed of this by their dentist. 72.9% of people thought a digital risk assessment form that provides them with advice will improve their understanding of their oral health.
Conclusion: The audit exemplified the need for novel methods of conveying preventative education effectively to patients. Recommendations include the use of a digital risk assessment model which provides all patients, regardless of where they seek treatment, with the same high-quality level of care, thrush reducing health inequalities.
Audience Takes Away Notes:
- To understand the importance of making patients aware of their risk statuses for dental conditions.
- Thus, further improving patient-dentist relationships and reinforcing preventative Dentistry within the community.
- To aid clinicians to identify the most useful methods of providing preventative care to patients.
