Method: Prospective analysis of the factors for broken appointments over a six-month period. 118 patients who came for routine dental treatment were enrolled out of which 98 required follow-up visits of various time-span. Those who didn't show up (and the guardians of aged/pediatric patients) were called by phone a day after their scheduled appointment to find out why. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS V17.
Result: Age range was 7 - 86 years (mean: 34±14.23) while the appointment ranged from 1 - 45 days (mean 9.51±6.76). Gender distribution was 47% v 53% (M:F). Out of the 98 patient given appointments, 30 (30.6%) did not turn up. The major factors for broken appointments were: time-span of appointment (p=0.026), distance between patient's home and clinic and severity of pain at presentation (p>0.05). Educational level (p=0.007)and being female (p>0.05) were associated with honoring appointments. The main reasons for breaking the appointment were absence of pain and/or discomfort (78.6%) and poverty (17.9%).
Conclusion: This study showed that the commonest factor for broken appointment in the studied population at the Government Dental clinic was the length of follow-up visit. Contrary to other studies which stated patient forgetfulness and lower socio-economic class as the commonest reasons for no shows, this study documented absence of pain and discomfort as the commonest reason. This signals a need for patient counseling on the need to honor appointments.