Abstract
The Authors conducted this to determine the actual status of new pediatric patients in order to reveal the entire scope and the changes over the years at a hospital in affiliation with Aichi-gakuin University, where these patients underwent dental based examinations from April 1993 to March 1994, and also from April 2003 to March 2004, on the basis of the application forms for the initial visit. The following conclusions were reached;
1. Total number of new patients: There were 412 new patients from April 1993 to March 1994 and 562 new patients from April 2003 to March 2004. The rate of increase was 36.4%. The mean age of the patients was 6.4 years in both periods.
2. The number of patients classified by month: From April 1993 to March 1994, it was greater in the months which corresponded to long vacations for primary school students and smaller in other months, while there was no dramatic change from April 2003 to March 2004.
3. The number of patients classified by day: From April 1993 to March 1994, every day showed similar values, except Thursday. In contrast, from April 2003 to March 2004, Monday and Saturday was showed significantly larger figures.
4. The percentage of patients classified by chief complaint:“caries treatment”and“oral care”accounted for more than 50% in both periods. For other chief complaints, there were not any remarkable changes in the 10 years.
5. The distribution of the domiciles of patients: In both periods, showed a higher proportion living in wards in the neighborhood of the hospital. The number of patients who lived in the suburbs of Nagoya showed an increase.
