Rodd Helen D, Clark Emma L, Stern Melanie R, Baker Sarah R
Department of Oral Health and Development, University of Sheffield, UK.
Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2007 Jan;44(1):92-4. doi: 10.1597/05-162.
To determine the frequency of missed dental appointments among children with a cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P).
A prospective study of failed appointments over a 12-month period.
Three different CL/P clinics within a British dental hospital.
Forty-five CL/P children (mean age of 8.8 years) and 45 age-matched, gender-matched, and postal code-matched noncleft patients.
The overall percentage of missed appointments at three different clinics by CL/P patients and the difference in attendance rates at the pediatric dentistry clinic between CL/P and non-CL/P children.
Pediatric dentistry had the highest rate of missed appointments (22.4%), followed by the multidisciplinary cleft clinic (9.2%) and the orthodontic clinic (8.8%). CL/P patients missed a significantly greater proportion of their pediatric dentistry appointments than noncleft children (22.4% versus 11.9%). Patients with a bilateral CL/P were significantly more likely to miss an appointment than patients with a unilateral CL/P. Age, gender, medical history, and distance traveled had no significant effect on attendance rates.
Further work is needed to identify risk factors for poor attendance and to develop strategies to reduce the frequency of missed appointments in this vulnerable group.
确定唇腭裂（CL/P）患儿错过牙科预约的频率。
一项对12个月内预约失败情况的前瞻性研究。
一家英国牙科医院内的三家不同的唇腭裂诊所。
45名唇腭裂患儿（平均年龄8.8岁）以及45名年龄、性别和邮政编码匹配的非腭裂对照患者。
唇腭裂患者在三家不同诊所错过预约的总体百分比，以及唇腭裂患儿与非唇腭裂患儿在儿童牙科诊所的就诊率差异。
儿童牙科的预约错过率最高（22.4%），其次是多学科腭裂诊所（9.2%）和正畸诊所（8.8%）。唇腭裂患者错过儿童牙科预约的比例明显高于非腭裂儿童（22.4%对11.9%）。双侧唇腭裂患者比单侧唇腭裂患者更易错过预约。年龄、性别、病史和出行距离对就诊率无显著影响。
需要进一步研究以确定导致就诊率低的风险因素，并制定策略以降低这一弱势群体错过预约的频率。
