Method: A brief, anonymous, self-administered questionnaire distributed to adult patients attending two primary care dental clinics and 16 general dental practices.
Result: 197 completed questionnaires were received from patients at primary care dental clinics and 429 from general dental practice patients. Overall, 87% of respondents thought that it was important or very important that dentists screened patients for medical conditions such as diabetes; 79% were very willing to let a dental team member carry out screening. The majority indicated willingness to be screened for various medical conditions during a visit to the dentist, with significantly higher proportions of respondents in the primary care clinics indicating willingness (hypertension: 83% vs 74%; heart disease: 77% vs 66%; diabetes 82% vs 72% (all p<0.02)). Nearly two thirds of primary care clinic respondents and over half of general practice patients indicated that they would be willing to discuss test results with the dental team.
Conclusion: The vast majority of respondents supported the concept of medical screening in a dental setting and were willing both to have screening tests and discuss their results with the dental team. Dental appointments may provide an opportunity for identifying the large numbers of people with unrecognised high-risk of diabetes, as well as other medical conditions.