Development of an Inventory of Dental Harms: Methods and Rationale.

Area of Science:

• Dental Medicine
• Patient Safety
• Medical Informatics

Background:

• Adverse events (AEs) in dentistry are common but multifactorial, hindering assessment and patient safety.
• Standardizing the terminology for dental AEs is essential for improving patient outcomes and care quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a comprehensive inventory of dental adverse events.
• To categorize and identify the most prevalent dental AEs through a multimodal approach.

Main Methods:

• A literature review was conducted.
• The MAUDE database was reviewed.
• Patient surveys, focus groups, expert interviews, and chart reviews were performed.

Main Results:

• 12 categories of dental AEs were identified, encompassing over 100 unique events.
• Hard tissue injury, soft tissue injury, and other orofacial complications were frequently identified.
• Allergic reactions, aspiration, pain, and wrong procedures were common subtypes of AEs.

Conclusions:

• A multimodal approach successfully created a broad list of dental AEs categorized into 12 groups.
• Hard tissue injury and pain were consistently identified as common adverse events across different data sources.
• Acknowledging and standardizing dental AEs is vital for mitigating harm and ensuring quality dental care.