HISTORY TAKING AND

TREATMENT PLANNING
NABASIRYE FLORENCE 17/U/18608
History taking, examination and
diagnosis
 Familiarity with the patient
 Patient’s past experiences whether good or bad prepare the patient for ptothodontics
 Don’t assume things just because the patient has prior knowledge
 Do a history taking including the following;
 a) Patient’s biodata (social information)
Including the name, age, sex, religion, occupation, education, marital status, patients
contact, the referral contact if patient was just referred, address etc
 b) Patient’s story
 This guides you to the cause of the lost teeth, patient’s expectations, availability
(time of appointment), etc, pay close attention to the story because this guides your
treatment plan.
Cont…
 c) Medical status or history
 Dentist must be aware of each patient’s general health, especially the
conditions that might influence the choice of treatment or aggravated by
something that might be done.
 This can alter the whole treatment.
 Bleeding history, drug allergies, medications they are currently taking,
chronic illnesses etc
 d) Mental health
 Ask about, Attitudes, importance of remaining teeth, why the need for
prosthetics etc, because some might just be doing it to please someone else.
 e) Dental History
 Reason for losing teeth, previous dental experiences, previous denture
experiences, etc
Diagnosis

 Guided by patient’s collected data including;

 Questions, records, visual observations, radiography, palpation,
measurements, diagnostic casts.
 Specific observations including;
 Existing dentures, soft tissue health, hard tissue health (teeth and bone),
biomechanical considerations (like jaw relations, border tissues, saliva) and
muscular development (muscle tonus, neuromuscular coordination, tongue,
cheeks and lips)
 Principles of perception guide us to a good diagnosis (detection,
discrimination, recognition, identification and judgement)
TREATMENT PLANNING

 Involves matching possible treatment options with patient’s needs and

systematically arranging the treatment in order of priority but keeping the
logical sequence.
 A broad knowledge of treatment possibilities is necessary
 Customize the care for each patient from the data obtained
 For a patient who mighty require extensive endodontic, periodontic and
prosthodontic treatment but have not enough money, might opt for
extractions and do a complete denture, the dentist can modify treatment by
doing a patient-oriented treatment but it should not compromise the patient's
health.
cont…

 Consider, diagnosis, prognosis, patient’s health and attitude while doing

treatment planning as major factors.
 Refer patients who require treatment beyond your competency. Don’t only
suggest treatment options you are comfortable to do, its not ethical.
 Don’t be shy to discuss time, fees and treatment procedures with the patient
before beginning treatment so as to obtain informed concent.
 Try to lower higher expectations from patients towards denture use, and rise
the bar on yourself to meet those high expectations.
Plan of treatment

 Follow a systematic approach depending on patient’s needs

 Patient’s priorities and expectations are discussed before treatment
 Do minor oral surgeries that might require immediate attention for patients in
pain.
 Plan for other surgeries that might be needed for proper management
 Considering patients needs, keep appointments as short as possible for those
with health problems like back pain
 Good treatment plans are conducive to good care and to mutual
understanding between the dentists and patients.
Questions
1. in treatment planning, attaining informed concent from the patient is by the
following except;
A. Operatory time
B. Laboratory time
C. Patient care
D. Associated fees
2. The main factors to consider during treatment planning include the following
except;
E. Diagnosis
F. Attitudes
G. Patient health
H. Prognosis
I. Finances
3. The following are principles of perception except;
A. Specificity
B. Judgement
C. Identification
D. Recognition
4. In history taking we consider the following except;
E. Patient’s social history
F. Attitudes
G. Medical status
H. Mental health
I. Dental history
5. During history taking, Diagnosis is guided by the following except;
J. Specific observations
K. Principles of perception
L. Prognosis
M. Visual observation
N. Questions and records
References

 Prothodonic treatment for edentulous patients, Zarb – Bolender, 12 th edition.