Referral patterns to a Middle Eastern oral medicine service: a retrospective analysis

Individuals with oral mucosal changes, oral dryness, and orofacial pain often visit multiple healthcare providers before receiving clinical care from oral medicine specialists. Such diagnostic delays may impact their oral health-related quality of life and potentially affect disease outcomes. The present study aimed to describe the patterns of referrals to an oral medicine service.

A retrospective analysis of all referrals to the Oral Medicine Clinic at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, over an 8-year period (2015 to 2023), was performed. Characteristics related to referrals (referrer speciality) and patients (demographics, medical history, reason/s for referral, and involved anatomical sites) were assessed. Data analysis and visualisation were performed using Microsoft Excel [v2.92.1]. The study variables were summarised using descriptive statistics: frequencies and percentages (%) for categorical variables, and mean (± SD) and median for numerical variables.

Of the 500 assessed referrals, 350 were included in the analysis. The primary referral sources were general dentists and dental emergency clinics (46%). In contrast, those received from medical practitioners were as low as 8 out of the 350 referrals. Most of these referrals were for females (62%) and presented with an average age of 36 (± 16). Reasons for referral often included pain (50%) and temporomandibular joint-related complaints (44%).

The present study described the pattern of referrals to a Middle Eastern university-based clinical service, which did not necessarily mirror international studies. Future work may consider unifying the speciality's scope, considering the differences across global healthcare systems and their policies. There is also a need to develop clinical practice guidelines for referral pathways to ensure value-based clinical care for oral and maxillofacial diseases.