ArticleClinical, cosmetic and investigational dentistry2017
Quality of oral surgery referrals and how to improve them.
Article in Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dentistry, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Patient and System Barriers to Early Diagnosis of Oral Cancer in the UK.Oral diseases · 2026Pooled it
- Diagnosis and referral delays in primary care for oral squamous cell cancer: a systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2019Pooled it
- The appropriateness of oral surgery referrals and treatment in contracted intermediate minor oral surgery practices in East Kent.British dental journal · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimTo assess the quality of routine oral surgery referrals received at Halmstad Hospital and Växjö Hospital and to emphasize areas for improvement.
methodA retrospective study was performed on all routine oral surgery referrals received between 2014 and 2015 at both Halmstad Hospital and Växjö Hospital. A total of 1,891 referral letters were assessed for their quality against a predetermined checklist of basic requirements of a satisfactory referral. The referrals were also categorized according to if it was sent by a male, female, private dental service, or the Swedish Public Dental Health service.
resultsA diagnosis was missing in 30% of all referrals. Radiographs and information about previous radiographic examinations were not included in 10% of the referrals. Of those referrals that included radiographs, only around half were deemed adequate for diagnostic purposes. The presenting complaint was missing in 40% of all referrals. Current medical history was absent in 40% and current medication was omitted in 60% of the referrals. Information about tobacco use was only included in 10% of all referrals. Overall, female referrers performed better than male colleagues. Private referrals more regularly included information about diagnosis, previous treatment, and current medication. On the other hand, referrals from the public dental health service more frequently included radiographs, tobacco use, and current medical history.
conclusionThere is plenty of room for improving the standards of oral surgery referrals. We suggest that future electronic referral systems should only allow for submission once all of the essential information has been considered.
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