Aside from personal details, relevant medical history (MHx) is always important in dentistry. For the provision of partial dentures, it may be particularly important to note whether a patient is epileptic, perhaps influencing denture design. MHx may also be important if any treatment needs to be undertaken prior to denture construction, such as periodontal treatment or oral surgery. Practitioners need to know if there are heart or chest complaints or whether the patient is at risk of infective endocarditis. Precautions are needed for diabetic patients, or those with a history of excessive bleeding or trauma.
Increasing drug therapy complexities mean the dentist must know any medication the patient is receiving so any adverse effects of agonists or antagonists can be avoided. Allergies must also be noted. On a case by case basis, steroids may need to be boosted whilst anticoagulants may need to be reduced for an extraction.
Dry mouth may be associated with poly pharmacy, sedative or anticonvulsant drugs. Long term use of antibiotics may lead to yeast infection.
Aside from this, dental history (DHx) is of course important. A view of previous dental experience may help in assessing attitudes towards treatment and give an idea as to what to look out for before inspecting the mouth. Attendance, reasons for previous extractions and any history of previous dentures are points which help to construct a treatment plan.
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