Next time you come to for a dental appointment you might be asked to update your medical history. You might even think it is a bit strange for us to ask. However, an up to date medical history is absolutely necessary to provide safe and individualised dental care.
A “simple clean” at the dentist can have major medical implications for patients if we aren’t aware of specific medical conditions beforehand. For example, patients with certain heart conditions or artificial implants may require a dose of prophylactic antibiotics beforehand for the dental treatment to be performed safely.
There are often medications that can interact with or contraindicate certain procedures. Medications used to treat osteoporosis can heavily impact healing after extractions; this medication is often given via injection once every 6 months and is easily forgotten by patients if we don’t update medical histories.
If your dentist doesn’t have the most recent medical history, you might suffer an adverse outcome from treatment. Both for your safety and as requirement of our accreditation with the Australian Dental Association, we take a written or digital medical history every 12 months.
Please be assured that all information is kept strictly confidential and is not used outside the dental office without your permission.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call and speak to our friendly staff.
Sincerely,
DBay Dental Team