The prevalence and patterns of common chief complaints among patients at Taif University Dental Hospital, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: The primary reasons for individuals seeking dental care, often referred to as chief complaints (CC), have significant importance in the process of gathering patient histories and devising treatment strategies before commencing treatment. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess and describe the prevalence and patterns of CC among a sample of dental patients attending the University Dental Hospital (UDH) at Taif University, Taif City, Saudi Arabia, and also to examine the association between the type of CC and gender and age. Settings and Design: This study was a retrospective study. Materials and Methods: The process of data extraction and organization included the use of a standardized form. The form primarily consisted of demographic characteristics, including age and sex, as well as CC. The dataset comprises information gathered from a sample of 900 dental patients who sought treatment at the dental clinics of the UDH at Taif University during the period from September 2022 to December 2022. Statistical Analysis: All statistical analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 17 (Chicago Inc.). Results: The most primary complaints stated by patients were related to dental pain and the need for restorative procedures, involving 83.7% of the total number of visits. Dental pain was the most common CC (48.4%), followed by teeth restorations (35.3%), a routine checkup (6.6%), tooth cleaning (6.3%), and others (3.3%). There was a significant association between the CCs and the patient’s age and gender (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The findings of this study highlight the importance of acquiring an accurate CC. Moreover, dental pain and the need for restorative procedures were identified as the key reasons for seeking dental care.