The Nature of Adverse Events in Dentistry

Area of Science:

• Dental Public Health
• Patient Safety Research
• Epidemiology of Healthcare-Associated Harm

Background:

• Learning from clinical data on patient safety in dentistry is nascent.
• Epidemiological estimates of adverse events (AEs) in dental care are lacking.
• Understanding the frequency, nature, and severity of harm in dental care is essential for improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify and describe the nature and severity of harm associated with dental care.
• To assess disparities in the prevalence of AEs in dental practice.
• To establish foundational data for error prevention and iatrogenic harm reduction in dentistry.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of patients' dental and medical records.
• Utilized a multistaged sampling procedure for in-depth data collection.
• Focused on ambulatory care settings, specifically dental practices.

Main Results:

• An adverse event (AE) proportion of 1.4% was identified (95% CI, 1.1% to 1.8%).
• At least two-thirds of detected AEs were preventable.
• 8% of patients experiencing harm sought care only from their physician, not the original dentist.

Conclusions:

• Adverse events occur in ambulatory dental care settings, not just hospitals.
• An estimated 3.3 million Americans annually experience harm related to outpatient dental care.
• Over 2 million of these annual harms may be associated with errors, highlighting the need for safety improvements.