Abstracts from Poster Presentations at the Scottish Dental Practice-Based Research Network's Symposium held in Edinburgh in November 2001

Symposium Reports

Abstract of poster presentations

A Review of Services for the Dentally Anxious Child in the Highland Health Board area of Scotland.

Catherine E M Lush

The publication of 'An Action Plan for Dental Services in Scotland (2000)' tasked each Health Board area to review services for the dentally anxious patient If the NHS in Scotland is to make progress in reducing inequalities in oral health, services may have to be re-designed to meet the needs of this patient group.

A decision was taken in Highland, to conduct the review in two stages. The main priority for NHS Highland was to reduce dependency on general anaesthesia in children. Services for adults would be reviewed in 2002.

This study aimed to review services for anxious children and to determine their perceived adequacy. Views of stakeholders were sought on service modernisation and appropriate incentives for change. The first stage of the process involved a postal questionnaire survey of all primary care dentists in Highland. The response rate was 78%. The results demonstrated that services in Highland for anxious children are under developed, with only 7% respondents offering inhalational sedation. The majority of general dental practitioners (GDPs) claimed little interest in this patient group, whereas 69% of community dentists (CDOs) had an interest and wished to see services further developed. Although the Community Dental Service (CDS) was the main referral service for this group, it was generally not viewed as a specialist service by primary care dentists.

This study recommends that a specialist referral service for anxious children in Highland is developed which is multi-centred and operates to clear standards of care. In Highland, this role should be fulfilled by the CDS as there was little interest from GDPs in becoming involved with this patient group. Such a development would be consistent with the modernisation agenda for the NHS in Scotland, whereby services are designed to meet the needs of a vulnerable group of patients, complimenting services offered by GDPs and allowing the CDS to move towards becoming a specialised service.

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