Abstract
Dramatic alterations in the environment surrounding young children in Japan have occurred over the past 3 decades. As the structure of society has transformed, changes in the role of university hospital pediatric dentistry departments, high level medical institutions, have also occurred and they are now expected to respond to a diverse range of needs. A fact-finding survey of patients who received initial examinations from 2015 to 2017 was performed, with the results compared to those of prior surveys conducted in 1989 and 1999. The results obtained indicated the following.
1.The mean annual number of patients receiving initial examinations was 1264, an increase as compared to the two prior surveys (839 in 1989, 750 in 1999).
2.The most common age the time of the initial examination was 1 year, followed by 2 and then 3 years. As compared to the two prior surveys, there was a decrease in age at first examination.
3.With regard to residential location, patients who lived in the area near the hospital accounted for 66.3% of the total.
4.The most common reason for the initial visit was treatment of caries, which accounted for 30.1% of the total. In comparison with the prior surveys, there was a trend toward reduction in occur rence of caries, though it remained the most common complaint. Conditions other than caries changed at roughly the same proportion, though showed considerable diversity.
5.Referred patients comprised 66.1% of the total, which was an increase as compared to the previous surveys.
With changes in society over the past 30 years, pediatric dentistry has come to be recognized as a highly specialized field in which greater levels of specialization are now demanded. In addition, lifestyle guidance for not only the patient but also including the family environment has recently come to be expected. The present results suggest that it is necessary to maintain up-to-date knowledge for meeting a wide variety of needs and providing an appropriate response to the individual situations of patients.
