Urgency in Pediatric Dentistry: Care Profile of the Integrated Pediatric Clinic of FOUFAL

Objective: To analyze the profile of the urgency care provided atthe Integrated Pediatric Clinic of the School of Dentistry of theFederal University of Alagoas (FOUFAL).Method: 221 patient files were analyzed between April toNovember 2006 and the following data were analyzed by descriptivestatistics: patient identification, type of urgency, involved tooth(teeth), diagnosis and proposed treatment. Only complete files wereincluded.Results: Urgency care was most frequently sought by femalechildren (55.7%); the age ranged between 2 and 14 years (meanage =7.6 years); toothache was the most common cause of urgencycare (53.84%); most cases of dental urgencies involved primarymandibular second molars (34.7%); the maxillary central incisorswere the most affected by traumatic injuries in both the primary(78.5%) and permanent (76.2%) dentitions; extraction (44%) wasthe most common dental procedure followed by root canal therapy(34.5%) and restorative treatment (24.5%); dental caries (48.3%)was the diagnosis most frequently associated with toothachefollowed by irreversible pulpitis (22.8%) and reversible pulpitis(16.1%).Conclusions: Most patients that sought treatment at the UrgencyService of the Pediatric Dentistry Clinic at FOUFAL were femalechildren with a low socioeconomic level. Toothache was the mostfrequent reason for the urgency appointments, extraction was themost common procedure, affecting mainly the primary dentition andthe mandibular second molars.