Visual complexity of dental intake forms and its association with dental treatment outcomes: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND

While many factors influence dental treatment outcomes, the visual characteristics of intake forms-such as the amount of handwriting-remain largely unexplored. Clinical impressions suggest that minimal or excessive form completion may reflect patient engagement or psychological disposition. To examine whether the visual complexity of intake forms, quantified as a "writing ratio," is associated with treatment prognosis in dental settings.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study included 813 patients who received a comprehensive dental consultation at Fukuoka Dental College Hospital in 2016. Intake forms were scanned and processed using Python and OpenCV to calculate the writing ratio, defined as the percentage of black pixels in the image. Patients were categorized into tertiles (Low, Mid, High) based on this ratio. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess associations with poor treatment outcomes (defined as dropout or clinician-initiated discontinuation), adjusting for age, sex, diagnosis, and the experience of the most senior attending dentist. An exploratory scoring system was constructed using key predictors and evaluated via ROC analysis.

RESULTS

Patients in the Low writing ratio group had a significantly higher risk of poor outcomes compared to the Mid group (adjusted OR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.07-2.18, p = 0.019). No significant difference was observed between the Mid and High groups. A subgroup of middle-aged females exhibited the highest dropout rate. The exploratory scoring system showed modest discriminative performance (AUC = 0.544).

CONCLUSIONS

Lower visual complexity of intake forms may reflect disengagement or unclear communication and is associated with poorer treatment outcomes. Intake form appearance may serve as an early behavioral indicator and support risk stratification in dental care. Redesigning intake forms to capture both structural and behavioral cues may enhance early clinical assessment and care planning.