Evaluation of health questionnaires used in dentistry.

An evaluation of a patient's general health before dental treatment is necessary to identify any systemic conditions, which may influence treatment and allow the dentist to evaluate risks, and reduce possible complications. Of the 860 dentists contacted by mail, 112 provided health questionnaires used in their offices. The authors evaluated the information in these questionnaires by describing content and rating them according to the importance of each topic. Questions were divided into categories and compared against a standard list of health-related topics. The authors also assessed the questionnaires based on dentists' area of specialization and length of clinical experience. It was not possible to establish a statistically significant correlation between the quality of a health questionnaire and dentists' specialty or length of experience; however, the questionnaires used by periodontists were rated as more comprehensive than those adopted by pedodontists (p < 0.05). Overall, the topics asked about most frequently were allergies, diabetes, and patient drug use.