Abstract
For further improvement in hospital-clinic cooperation, we conducted a survey of new patients (n＝952 ; 550 boys, 402 girls) who visited the outpatient clinic of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry,School of Dentistry, Showa University from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013 and brought treatment information reports or referrals from dental clinics or general hospitals. The following results were obtained.1.The most common age of the referred patients was 7 years and patients aged 0 to 8 years accounted for approximately 80% of the total.2.Most of the referring institutions were dental clinics, which accounted for more than 90%.3.Dental caries was most common reason for referral for patients 0 to 6 years old, while tooth eruption anomaly was the most common for those aged 7 years and over.4.By area, dental caries referrals most commonly came from neighboring areas, while tooth eruption anomaly referrals commonly came from distant areas. No difference was recognized for dental trauma in regard to the area of referral.5.As for the age of the referred patients by area, no difference was seen for patients 12 years of age and under, while a significant difference was recognized for patients 13 years old and over.In contrast to our previous report, we found relationships between age of the referred patients and area, as well as reason for referral. Based on our findings, we considered that a quick understanding of the situation for which our department is needed as well as close cooperation with neighboring dentists are important factors for pediatric dentistry provided by our dental university.
