Methods of examination in medicine are traditionally divided into basic and additional ones. Basic methods of dental patient examination are: interview, visual examination, probing, palpation and percussion. Examination of a dental patient is carried out in the following order: interview, visual extraoral examination, visual intraoral examination (probing, palpation and percussion if necessary), then, if necessary, one resorts to additional methods.
INTERVIEW
Intrerview of the dental patient is carried out in the form of conversation. First of all, it is necessary to elicit the patient's complaints. Complaints may be as follows:
► Pain (it is necessary to describe in detail the character of pain: sharp, throbbing, aching, localized or irradiating, etc.). Also describe the duration of pain, precipitating factors (temperature, chemical irritants, biting).
► Gums bleeding during teeth brushing.
► Difficulty in opening the mouth (joint pain, muscle contraction).
► Dry mouth.
► Disorder of facial structure (swelling, tumor, infiltration, abscess).
► Difficulty in chewing.
► Aesthetic defect (change in color or shape of the teeth), etc.
Next, the dentist has to take dental history (anamnesis morbi): the time of onset of the first complaints, the cause of the disease in the patient?s opinion (hypothermia, trauma, infection, tooth treatment or extraction, anesthesia complications, etc.), what treatment has already been carried out and whether it was effective or not.
In conclusion, it is necessary to take past history (anamnesis vitae): here one usually includes data on the dental health of parents, working and living conditions, dietary habits, harmful habits.
One should pay particular attention to the facts, which could affect the development of the disease (for instance, family history of hereditary amelogen-esis imperfecta or working in chemical industry). Data about past diseases, such as cardiovascular problems, diabetes, blood cell diseases, are very important.