OHIP-14 scores and the required need for specialist dental treatment
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Relationship between the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) score of patients referred to a secondary care centre for restorative treatment and the required need for specialist treatment as perceived by the specialist clinician.
IRAS ID
135411
Contact name
George P Cherukara
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen Mary University of London
Research summary
In the UK, primary care is given by a general dental practitioner (GDP). If a patient presents with complex treatment needs and meets referral criteria, the GDP has the option to make a referral to a secondary care facility which can provide specialist care. The restorative dentistry department at Barts Health dental hospital UK receives over 200 referrals a week, where an audit showed that 43.5% of the referrals were declined to be assessed for specialist treatment. Following initial assessment 60% of the remaining 56.5% did not require specialist care as assessed by the consultant clinicians’. These patients are referred back to the referring dentist with a treatment plan. This illustrates a high rate of avoidable referrals to the specialist/secondary care system, even though referral criteria have been set by this institution and disseminated to GDPs. Similar trends have been reported by other secondary care dental institutions in the UK.
Apart from the genuine need, based on the referral criteria for secondary care in the NHS, economic factors, failed courses of treatment and transferring care of patients who were too difficult to manage were factors highlighted as reasons for referral. When referring patients who may need specialist restorative dental care, the effect the oral disorder has on their quality of life may be an important factor. OHIP 14 questionnaire has been reported to be a valid and reliable tool to assess the above. In this study we are using the OHIP-14 questionnaire on referred patients attending new patient assessment clinics to assess their oral health related quality of life. We will compare the OHIP-14 score of individual patients to find an association between the score and referral.
REC name
London - City & East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/1419
Date of REC Opinion
16 Oct 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion