A study of the reasons for patients seeking after hours emergency dental treatment

A retrospective review was made of the records of patients reporting for after hours emergency dental treatment at Fort Carson, CO, in an attempt to determine the reasons, and their frequency, for patients seeking such care. An additional purpose of the study was to identify any problem areas which might require review as part of the overall quality assurance initiative. While no quality assurance problems were identified, the study suggests that better patient awareness and education could have prevented some of the after hours emergency visits.