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Adam Hiné, DDS
Dental Resident
Primary Children’s Medical Central
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Hans C. Reinemer, DMD
Program Director
Primary Children’s Medical Center
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Dave Collingridge, PHD
Primary Children's Hospital
Hans C. Reinemer, DMD
Program Director
Primary Children’s Medical Center
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Purpose: To assess why caregivers choose to have pediatric dental emergencies managed in a hospital emergency department (ED) rather than in a dental office and to assess why pediatric and general dentists in the Salt Lake area refer patients to the ED for dental-related issues.
Methods: Seventy-eight caregivers who accompanied their children to the ED for dental-related issues were given a questionnaire assessing motivations to have the child’s dental issue resolved in the ED. Similar questionnaires were emailed or given to pediatric and general dentists in the Salt Lake area.
Results: The average age of children seen in the ED for dental treatment was 6 years old, with a range of 11 months to 16 years old. Fifty-seven % of patients reported that the dental emergency happened during business hours, but 50% of patients had not attempted to call a dentist about their dental emergency. Parents listed their personal perception that the emergency needed to be treated in a hospital setting as the most common reason for taking their child to the ED (50%). This was followed by the recommendation of their dentist (27%).
Conclusion: Half of the patients who presented to the ED for dental-related issues did not attempt to call a dentist. Sixty-two% of pediatric dentists and 54% of general dentists reported they do not have set protocols for referring a pediatric patient to the ED.