Failed attendances at hospital dental clinics among young patients with cleft lip and palate.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the frequency of missed dental appointments among children with a cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P).


METHODS
A prospective study of failed appointments over a 12-month period.


METHODS
Three different CL/P clinics within a British dental hospital.


METHODS
Forty-five CL/P children (mean age of 8.8 years) and 45 age-matched, gender-matched, and postal code-matched noncleft patients.


METHODS
The overall percentage of missed appointments at three different clinics by CL/P patients and the difference in attendance rates at the pediatric dentistry clinic between CL/P and non-CL/P children.


RESULTS
Pediatric dentistry had the highest rate of missed appointments (22.4%), followed by the multidisciplinary cleft clinic (9.2%) and the orthodontic clinic (8.8%). CL/P patients missed a significantly greater proportion of their pediatric dentistry appointments than noncleft children (22.4% versus 11.9%). Patients with a bilateral CL/P were significantly more likely to miss an appointment than patients with a unilateral CL/P. Age, gender, medical history, and distance traveled had no significant effect on attendance rates.


CONCLUSIONS
Further work is needed to identify risk factors for poor attendance and to develop strategies to reduce the frequency of missed appointments in this vulnerable group.
Rodd
Helen D
HD
Department of Oral Health and Development, University of Sheffield, UK. h.d.rodd@sheffield.ac.uk
Clark
Emma L
EL
Stern
Melanie R
MR
Baker
Sarah R
SR
D000293:Adolescent; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000628:therapy; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000628:therapy; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003796:Dental Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012923:Social Class; D016312:Treatment Refusal / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*