Making a Diagnosis

Question 1

what is HPC?

Answer 1

history of present complaint

Question 2

what is PMH?

Answer 2

past medical history

Question 3

what is PDH?

Answer 3

past dental history

Question 4

what is SH?

Answer 4

social history

Question 5

what do you look for in an extra-oral examination?

Answer 5

muscles, joints, nodes, symmetry, aesthetics

Question 6

what is the purpose of an intra-oral examination?

Answer 6

identify signs of disease or complicating factors for treatment

Question 7

what do you look at in an intra-oral exam?

Answer 7

soft and hard tissues

Question 8

what do you feel for in an intra-oral exam?

Answer 8

mobility or tenderness

Question 9

in order, what areas of the mouth are looked at during an intra-oral examination?

Answer 9

lips, buccal mucosa, floor of mouth and tongue, dorsal of tongue, lateral border of tongue and hard palate

Question 10

what do you do when examining the lips?

Answer 10

reveal labial mucosa too

Question 11

what do you do when examining the floor of the mouth and the tongue?

Answer 11

ask patient to touch palate with tongue tip

Question 12

what do you look for when examining the hard palate?

Answer 12

colour, texture, consistency and other lesions. make sure to remove dentures when assessing this

Question 13

name some special investigations

Answer 13

sensitivity/vitality test, mobility tests, radiographs, plaque score, biopsy

Question 14

what is the purpose of a sensitivity/vitality

Answer 14

see whether the tooth still has some blood inside it and is still alive

Question 15

what is used for a sensitivity/vitality test?

Answer 15

electric pulp test and ethyl chloride (very cold substance)

Question 16

what are the different provisional diagnoses that can be given?

Answer 16

trauma, idiopathic, inflammation, neoplastic, autoimmune

Question 17

what are the different trauma diagnoses that can be given?

Answer 17

thermal, chemical, mechanical

Question 18

what are the different inflammatory diagnoses?

Answer 18

viral, bacterial and allergic

Question 19

what are the different neoplastic diagnoses that can be given?

Answer 19

oral cancer and haematological

Question 20

give an example of an autoimmune diagnosis

Answer 20

Behcets syndrome

Question 21

what do patients complain of for traumatic ulcers?

Answer 21

may report a history of traumatic injury i.e. tongue biting

Question 22

how are traumatic ulcers healed?

Answer 22

usually heals within two weeks after removal of suspected aetiology (removal of any obvious irritating cusp, restoration or appliances)

Question 23

what information does a diet diary give?

Answer 23

prognostic and diagnostic information (caries and toothwear)

Question 24

name some common dental diagnoses

Answer 24

caries, gingivitis, pulpitis, periodontitis, tooth wear, failure of restorations, recurrent oral ulceration