2019 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 87-93
We examined the records of patients who visited the Department of Pediatric Dentistry of Hiroshima University Hospital for the first time between 2011 and 2015.
1.The number of first-time visitors during the study period was 2500, with no significant difference among the years analyzed.
2.The number of new patients aged 3-6 years showed an increase, while that of those aged 6-9 years was decreased.
3.Among the new patients, 75% lived in Hiroshima City and that proportion was not significantly changed throughout the study period.
4.From 2011 to 2015, the proportion of new patients coming for “caries treatment” or “intraoral screening” was increased, while that of those coming for “cavity prevention” or “malalignment” was decreased.
5.From 2011 to 2015, the number of new patients referred by other hospitals or clinics was increased. This was especially noted after relocation of the department to a newly built outpatient clinical facility in 2013, after which 90% of the transferred patients were referral cases. In addition, since the new pediatric dentistry department was established in closer proximity to the pediatric department, inter-departmental collaboration was strengthened. We considered that relocation was one of the main factors responsible for the increase in number of new pediatric patients referred by the Medical Division of our hospital.
6.We also investigated systemic diseases presented by the new pediatric patients referred to our department by the Medical Division and noted that the numbers of those with a “solid tumor”, a “he matopoiesis tumor”, “non-neoplastic hematologic disease”, and “neurological disease” were increased after relocation of the department.
The present findings confirm that our Pediatric Dentistry unit functions well as part of a tertiary medical care institution and also highlight the importance of community-based health care, which we will continue to pursue.
