What happens after referral for sedation?
OBJECTIVE
To follow up 100 referrals to the sedation clinic, examining dental anxiety and background of patients, and to assess how many patients attended for treatment planning, initial treatment and how many completed treatment, and describe the characteristics of each. For those who attended for initial treatment, to investigate which type of sedation they received and the level of clinician they saw.


METHODS
Descriptive, cross-sectional survey and review of case notes.


METHODS
Subjects were 100 consecutive new patients to the Department of Sedation and Special Care Dentistry at Guy's and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust. The notes were analysed by an experienced member of staff (CAB) and data entered into an Excel spreadsheet and an SPSS data file created. These data were merged with a dataset containing their responses to the initial questionnaire and medical history for analysis.


RESULTS
Of the 100 patients initially referred, 72 attended the treatment planning session, 66 of the 72 (92%) attended for initial dental treatment, and 33 of 66 (50%) completed treatment. Dental Fear Survey (DFS) scores were related to attendance at the initial treatment visit but not to completion of treatment. Only 33 of 100 referred patients completed treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Attendance for treatment planning and initial treatment was high. Attendance is related to fear and mental health. Overall completion of treatment from referral was 33%.
Department of Sedation and Special Care Dentistry, King's College London Dental Institute at Guy's, King's College and St. Thomas' Hospitals, Floor 26, Tower Wing, London, SE1 9RT, UK. carole.boyle@kcl.ac.uk
C A
CA
Boyle
T
T
Newton
L J
LJ
Heaton
S
S
Afzali
P
P
Milgrom
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001521:Behavior Therapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016292:Procedural Sedation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010352:Patient Dropouts / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult