Referral patterns to the Paediatric Dental Emergency Clinic at The University of the West Indies, School of Dentistry, Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

Aim: To determine sources and reasons for referral of patients to the paediatric dental emergency clinic at The UWI School of Dentistry and to identify factors that can improve the efficiency and quality of services provided at the clinic. Method: Referral records for consecutive patients were reviewed for reason and source of referral and the region referred from. Data was collected over a three-month period. Reasons were recorded based on a list of pre-defined criteria and categorised by their sources. Results: Referral records were reviewed for 200 patients. The most common reasons for referral were for toothache or abscess (36%), followed by extensive dental disease (15.5%), medically compromised (13.5%) and dental trauma (9.5%). The most frequent sources of referral were from public health dentists (34%), followed by hospital departments (25%), self-referrals (24.5%) and private dentists (12%). With respect to region, majority of referrals came from North (27%) and Central Trinidad (25%). Conclusion: Children with toothache or abscess were the most common referrals to the clinic, and the majority were from the public dental services. These findings indicate that referrals to the clinic are mainly for emergency care, but the service is also being utilized for diagnostic services and treatment planning, through referrals from hospital department and general dental practitioners.