Feasibility of screening for diabetes in General Dental Practice

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the uptake of patients using the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) and HbA1c information as preliminary screening tools in general dental practice, in screening for possible diabetes, and determine the number of patients at risk of diabetes.
Methods: Dental patients attending one of two dental surgeries for routine appointments who did not already have diabetes, who were aged 45 and over, and spoke fluent English, were offered the chance to be screened for diabetes using the self-report FINDRISC screening tool to assess risk of development of diabetes in the next 10 years. If a patient’s score showed them to be at risk, they were offered an instant HbA1c finger-prick test where they are given their result instantaneously. Patients found to be at risk on the FINDRISC, were referred to their GP for formal diagnostic testing.
Results: N=1292 patients eligible for inclusion based on age, attended dental appointments over 118 days of recruitment. N=221 of these patients were then found to be ineligible due to not speaking fluent English and having a history of diabetes. N=515 patients refused to participate whilst N=520 patients consented for screening. N=259 patients were found to be ‘at risk’ of developing diabetes based on FINDRISC scores, and were referred to their GP for subsequent diagnostic testing.
Conclusions: The study demonstrates a feasible method of diabetes screening that shows an acceptable rate of uptake by dental patients. It demonstrates a high number of patients ‘at risk’ of developing diabetes being referred to their GP.