Asian Journal of Dental Sciences

Aim: This retrospective study evaluate the modification of waiting time throughout time for disabled dental patients, who required treatment under general anaesthesia at “O Agios Dimitrios” Hospital of Thessaloniki, Greece.

Study Design: Retrospective study based on the medical records of all dental cases treated within the examined period of time.

Place and Duration of Study: Dental Department of the General Hospital of Thessaloniki “O Agios Dimitrios”, between June 2015 and June 2024.

Methodology: In total, 166 dental patients were treated within the examined period, but for 16 of them the time of first diagnosis had not been reported. As this prohibited the calculation of their waiting time, these 16 patients were excluded. The waiting time since the first examination for each case was calculated, using the weighted average value of waiting time to see if it shortened or lengthened throughout time.

Results: 100 out of the 166 (60.24%) patients derived from Thessaloniki, but patients from other districts of Northern Greece were also referred to the hospital for dental care under general anaesthesia. Each case was classified in an urgency scale of K1 to K5 (K1: most urgent, K5: less urgent), following the guidelines given by the Greek Ministry of Health. The majority of dental patients, namely 140 out of 166, were classified as K5 (84.34%). Our calculations revealed a rapid increase of waiting time from 1.94 semesters up to 4.66 semesters. In period 2015 – 2018 a dental patient would be treated within almost 2 semesters since diagnosis, while in period 2019 – 2024 the average waiting time was a bit more or less than 4.5 semesters.

Conclusion: Integrating dental care into broader public health policies and disability support programs is vital for ensuring comprehensive and equitable care for disabled individuals.