Prevalence of medically compromised conditions in dental patients.
OBJECTIVE
To study the prevalence of medically compromised conditions in patients seeking dental treatment at the Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University.


METHODS
The files of 58,317 patients seeking dental treatments at the Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University from 2002-2004 were retrieved and reviewed for medically compromised conditions.


RESULTS
From a total of 58,317 patients, 7,167 patients (12.2%) had medically compromised conditions. The five most prevalent conditions in descending order were allergy, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, heart diseases and thyroid diseases.


CONCLUSIONS
Even though the prevalence of medically compromised conditions in dental patients is not high, dentists should bear in mind that some of the patients may harbor such conditions which are contraindicated for certain dental procedures or medication or require special attention when treating these patients. Therefore, a thorough history taking and careful clinical examinations are mandatory before commencing any dental treatment.
Dhanuthai
Kittipong
K
Department of Oral Pathology, Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University, Pathumwan District, Bangkok, Thailand. fibroma123@yahoo.com
Sappayatosok
Kraisorn
K
Bijaphala
Panruthai
P
Kulvitit
Sirinya
S
Sereerat
Thanasit
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D055815:Young Adult