Sir, we are writing in response to the letter published 11 March 2006 (An alarming increase in dental sepsis). We share the same concerns as Mr Carter and Mr Starr at Hull Royal Infirmary regarding the presentation of patients to Accident and Emergency departments with dental sepsis. There is indeed evidence that dental sepsis can result in death, but this is rare. There is no doubt, however, that it poses a significant impact on service provision and financial implications, both to the patient and National Health Service.

We have carried out a similar retrospective audit of numbers of patients presenting to oral and maxillofacial surgery services at Leeds General Infirmary with oro-facial and cervical sepsis of dental origin requiring admission for management.

Our data (see Table below) for the last six years did not reflect the same trend as that in Hull where a 47% increase was observed from 1999 to 2004, the latter admittedly from smaller data numbers.

Table 1
Full size table

The picture is clearly more complex. The introduction of the new dental contracts in April 2006 and the potential changes in accessibility of dental services will alter the situation further, most likely a worsening of the problem. There is a case for a prospective national audit in this instance.