Young N L, Rodd H D, Craig S A
Department of Oral Health and Development, School of Dentistry, Sheffield, UK.
Community Dent Health. 2009 Mar;26(1):29-31.
To determine what proportion of children undergo radiographic assessment prior to referral to a dental hospital for extractions under general anaesthesia.
This prospective survey was conducted over a 6-month period. A data sheet was used to record the following information: patient's age; referrer's name and place of work (general dental practice or community dental service); teeth to be extracted (primary dentition and/or permanent dentition) and reported previous radiographic examination. Patients were excluded from the study if, following a clinical examination, radiographs were not actually deemed necessary for diagnosis and treatment planning purposes. Clinical setting A paediatric dentistry clinic within a dental hospital in the North of England. Participants 161 patients with a mean age of six years (SD = 2.2, range = 3-14 years) who were referred to the dental hospital for extractions under general anaesthesia.
Overall, 12.4% of children had reportedly undergone a previous radiographic assessment prior to hospital referral. A significantly greater proportion of children referred for permanent tooth extractions had been subject to radiographic examination compared to children referred for primary tooth extractions (46.2% as compared to 6.3%; P = 0.001 chi-squared test). Furthermore, patients referred from the community dental service were significantly more likely to have had previous dental radiographs than children referred from general dental practice (36.9% compared to 9.3%; P = 0.003 chi-squared test).
Radiographs do not appear to be routinely employed for caries diagnosis and treatment planning in young children within general dental practice in the U.K.
确定在转介至牙科医院接受全身麻醉下拔牙治疗之前，接受过影像学评估的儿童比例。
这项前瞻性调查为期6个月。使用数据表记录以下信息：患者年龄；转诊医生的姓名和工作地点（普通牙科诊所或社区牙科服务机构）；拟拔除的牙齿（乳牙列和/或恒牙列）以及既往影像学检查报告。如果在临床检查后，认为影像学检查对于诊断和治疗计划并非实际必要，则将患者排除在研究之外。临床环境：英格兰北部一家牙科医院内的儿科牙科诊所。参与者：161名平均年龄为6岁（标准差=2.2，范围=3-14岁）的患者，他们被转介至牙科医院接受全身麻醉下的拔牙治疗。
总体而言，据报告12.4%的儿童在转诊至医院之前接受过影像学评估。与转诊拔除乳牙的儿童相比，转诊拔除恒牙的儿童接受影像学检查的比例显著更高（分别为46.2%和6.3%；卡方检验，P=0.001）。此外，与从普通牙科诊所转诊的儿童相比，从社区牙科服务机构转诊的患者更有可能既往接受过牙科影像学检查（分别为36.9%和9.3%；卡方检验，P=0.003）。
在英国普通牙科诊所中，影像学检查似乎未被常规用于幼儿龋齿的诊断和治疗计划。
