Making a Diagnosis Flashcards
what is HPC?
history of present complaint
what is PMH?
past medical history
what is PDH?
past dental history
what is SH?
social history
what do you look for in an extra-oral examination?
muscles, joints, nodes, symmetry, aesthetics
what is the purpose of an intra-oral examination?
identify signs of disease or complicating factors for treatment
what do you look at in an intra-oral exam?
soft and hard tissues
what do you feel for in an intra-oral exam?
mobility or tenderness
in order, what areas of the mouth are looked at during an intra-oral examination?
lips, buccal mucosa, floor of mouth and tongue, dorsal of tongue, lateral border of tongue and hard palate
what do you do when examining the lips?
reveal labial mucosa too
what do you do when examining the floor of the mouth and the tongue?
ask patient to touch palate with tongue tip
what do you look for when examining the hard palate?
colour, texture, consistency and other lesions. make sure to remove dentures when assessing this
name some special investigations
sensitivity/vitality test, mobility tests, radiographs, plaque score, biopsy
what is the purpose of a sensitivity/vitality
see whether the tooth still has some blood inside it and is still alive
what is used for a sensitivity/vitality test?
electric pulp test and ethyl chloride (very cold substance)
what are the different provisional diagnoses that can be given?
trauma, idiopathic, inflammation, neoplastic, autoimmune
what are the different trauma diagnoses that can be given?
thermal, chemical, mechanical
what are the different inflammatory diagnoses?
viral, bacterial and allergic
what are the different neoplastic diagnoses that can be given?
oral cancer and haematological
give an example of an autoimmune diagnosis
Behcets syndrome
what do patients complain of for traumatic ulcers?
may report a history of traumatic injury i.e. tongue biting
how are traumatic ulcers healed?
usually heals within two weeks after removal of suspected aetiology (removal of any obvious irritating cusp, restoration or appliances)
what information does a diet diary give?
prognostic and diagnostic information (caries and toothwear)
name some common dental diagnoses
caries, gingivitis, pulpitis, periodontitis, tooth wear, failure of restorations, recurrent oral ulceration
