Dental treatment need among first-visit patients of Dental Outpatient Clinic at IIUM Kuantan for the year 2016

• Main Authors: Ismail, Azlini, Abllah, Zurainie, Muhammad Radhi, Nur Aishah, Musa, Syazalina, Abdul Halim, Mohd Firdaus Akbar
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: RK Dentistry
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/59120/6/59120-Dental%20treatment%20need%20among%20first-visit%20patients.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/59120/; http://iidc.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/IIDC-eBook.pdf
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

Introduction: This cross-sectional study aimed to determine association of age and gender with treatment need among first-visit patients at Dental Outpatient Clinic, IIUM Kuantan in 2016. Methods: Ethical approval (IREC 762) was obtained from IIUM Human Ethics Committee. List of first-visit patients who attended clinic from 1st January to 31st December 2016 was retrieved to assess patient’s age and gender. Treatment need was determined according to the normative need which was professionally defined by dental-officer-in charge. All first-visit patients were included, except those attended Orthodontic department or with old Malaysian identification card or foreign passport. Included patients were classified into six age groups (≤ 14, 15-19, 20-34, 35-44, 45-64 and ≥ 65). Pearson’s chi square test was used for statistical analysis. Results: From a total number of 2,713 patients (age range of 2 to 87), 1,210 (44.6%) were males and 1,503 (55.4%) were females. Age (p<0.001) and gender (p<0.001) were significantly associated with treatment need. Paediatric patients (≤ 14) were majorly assigned to paedodontic care. Younger-age patients (15-19, 20-34 and 35-44) mostly required conservative care (39.5%, 31.2% & 30.6%, respectively) while elder-age patients (45-64 and ≥ 65) have major need for prosthodontics. Females outnumbered males at any age group, except for the age group of ≥ 65 whereby the situation was the opposite. Females outnumbered males in all types of treatment need, except for periodontics which was pre-dominated by males.