George Jones
James Cook University Hospital, UK
Title: An assessment of the frequency of dentally unregistered paediatric patients requiring hospital admittance for dental infections
Biography
Biography: George Jones
Abstract
An assessment of the frequency of dentally unregistered paediatric patients requiring hospital admittance for dental infections: In 2014-2015, more than 26,000 hospital admissions were for dental infections in children age 5-9. The
Royal College of Surgeons of England state that 42.1% of children did not visit an NHS dentist between 2015-2016. Based on “Delivering Better Oral Health” and NICE Guidelines, all children should be registered and have a recall frequency of no more than 1 year. We aimed to assess how often paediatric patients in our region were registered with a dentist, and how often hospital admittance and emergency surgery for dental abscesses was required, which is a serious dental public health issue in the UK.
Results/Statistics:
• 211 A+E maxillofacial presentations between March 2017-September 2017
• 49 dental swellings
• 27/49 patients (55.1%) require admission into hospital for emergency surgery
• 63.3% (31/49) GDP registered vs 36.7% (18/49) not GDP registered
• 0% (0/18) of GDP unregistered children were given advice of how to register with a GDP
Conclusions/Clinical Relevance: The results show that not all paediatric patients have regular exposure to dental care by not being registered with a GDP. Without regular recall and examination, dental swelling will continue to be a frequent presentation in A+E in the UK.
Recommendations:
1. Staff to discuss with all paediatric patients and parents how to register with a dentist
2. Education advice on oral health to be sent to all nurseries/schools
3. Reaudit 6 months