Hospital dental service: a clinical evaluation to determine its justification

A research study was undertaken to determine the importance of a hospital dental service in civilian hospitals. Two hundred hospitalized patients were evaluated to determine their oral health status and possible effects of poor oral health on related physical situations. Both cental caries and periodontal disease were prelavlent in the hospital patient population, and 83.5% of the patients suffered from some type of oral pathosis that required treatment. Hospital dental care is important, not only for the health and improvement of the total patient but also for the hospital to provide complete patient care.