Trends In Paediatric First Dental Visit: A Retrospective Study

Background: The first dental visit is an important milestone in the child's life that lays down the foundation of preventive dental care in order to ensure optimal oral health during childhood. Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the average age at which parents first seek their children dental care and also to find the common reasons for seeking the first dental care. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was carried out using digital case records of 18,199 children who reported to the Department of Pediatric dentistry from June 2015 to May 2019. The age groups of the children were divided in to four categories 0-3 years, 4-6 years, 7-12 years and 13-17 years. The various chief complaints were categorized as follows, tooth decay, deposits/bad breath, trauma, pain/sensitivity, malaligned teeth, missing teeth, swelling, habits, routine check-up, others (cleft lip and palate, mobile teeth, soft tissue lesions) were assessed. The frequency distribution, trends of age groups and reasons for first dental visit was analyzed through four years. Results: Maximum number of children who reported for their first dental visit was between 7-12 years (34.39%) followed by 13-17 years (26.10%). Most common chief complaint for the visit was pain (45.96%). Second common complaint was deposits/bad breath (23.88%) followed by dental caries (8.74%). Conclusion: Parents take their children to dentist only after 7 years for complaints like pain, deposits and dental caries. No orientation to prevention was considered and preventive dentistry needs to travel a long journey to reach the common people in India