Medical history of children undergoing dental treatment in Ireland.

A simple medical history questionnaire suitable for filling in at home by the parents of children about to undergo a school dental inspection is described. Information on the medical status of 2,542 primary schoolchildren between the ages of 4 and 14 years as obtained by the use of this questionnaire is presented. The number of children giving one or more positive replies to the 10 questions on the list was 401. This was 15.8% of the total number investigated. The question on heart defects was answered positively for 2.8% of the children, while nearly 1% were said to be allergic to penicillin.