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Non-traumatic dental presentations at accident and emergency departments in the UK: a systematic review

British Dental Journal volume 228, pages 171–176 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective Attendance at accident and emergency departments (A&E) for non-traumatic dental conditions (NTDC) is increasing in high-income countries. Not all NTDC visits to A&E are inappropriate; however, those that are take up capacity with conditions which are adding to the pressure regarding cost and healthcare utilisation for A&E departments. The scale of this problem is yet to be understood in the United Kingdom (UK). The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature to identify peer-reviewed research publications reporting non-traumatic dental presentations at A&E departments in the UK.

Data sources A structured search of Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science databases from their earliest date to May 2018. Hand-searching of identified articles that met the inclusion criteria was also reviewed.

Data selection Publications were included if they were primary research on A&E users in the UK with NTDC as the primary reason for the A&E visit.

Data extraction Data were extracted on the study, patient and visit characteristics.

Data synthesis Studies were assessed for methodological quality and the analysis took the form of a narrative review.

Conclusion There is limited evidence, of variable quality, to inform on the extent of inappropriate presentations of patients with non-urgent NTDC to A&E departments in the UK. The evidence supports the hypothesis that dental patients are inappropriately seeking care for NTDC at A&E departments and this may be a driver of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions. Further research should focus on the reasons for this occurrence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dental Public Health, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Otobong Bassey, Julia Csikar, Wendy Thompson & Gail Douglas

  2. Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Jennifer Hallam

  3. Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK; Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK

    Jonathan Sandoe

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  1. Otobong Bassey
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Correspondence to Otobong Bassey.

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Bassey, O., Csikar, J., Hallam, J. et al. Non-traumatic dental presentations at accident and emergency departments in the UK: a systematic review. Br Dent J 228, 171–176 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-020-1247-x

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