The Conversation – Medical History – Part 1
We live in interesting times. Covid has made us appreciate what we have taken for granted, like having a real conversation with a person in real life. Dentistry is a real life experience, difficult to zoom in.
However, certain conversations are very important.
There is an expression – “Never treat a stranger”. This is not limited to your name, address and star sign… No, we don’t need that. We need to know what may affect our care of you.
We ask full medical history as there are implications that you may not be aware that can affect our treatment of you. People often think that some medical information is not relevant to dental surgery. Remember we don’t like treating strangers. We don’t like surprises unless it’s for my birthday!
This is always an interesting conversation. Firstly remembering what medications you have, how they are spelt, and why you are taking them.
I sometimes start with how many medications you take, to try to jog the memory. Sometimes patients only count the tablets as medicines and forget about the aerosol medications such as Ventolin for Asthma, or the injection medications for bone issues such as Prolia, or Vitamin B12, important for blood health and healing.
Solution: please request an updated letter from your doctor with medications, allergies, hospital history and medical conditions.
Why? We don’t want any surprises.
Some medications may you bleed more easily such as aspirin.
Others interact with certain painkillers, such as some heart medications, and stop them working properly.
Dry mouth is often a side effect of many medications which increase the risk of decay.
The medicines indicate the medical issues you have, such as diabetes, heart problems and bone issues. This may alter the way we treat you or monitor you.
We want to avoid a medical emergency but also be prepared to deal with a medical crisis.
Occasionally we need to give you medication before we treat otherwise life threatening issues may ensue. This happens with artificial heart valves or recent artificial joint replacements where antibiotics are given under supervision just before the procedure.
Allergies to medications
We definitely don’t want a surprise here. The main allergy is Penicillin, but it has other names such as Amoxycillin, Augmentin and so on.
This may lead to an anaphylactic reaction which is life threatening. As always, other medication may need to be avoided if there are side effects in some people, such as nausea with Codeine.
So let’s have a lifesaving conversation.
Need an Appointment?
If you’d like to book an appointment with the dentist at Seymour Dental then call us in Dulwich Hill, Sydney on (02) 9564 2397 or
contact us
Next week
The Conversation - Medical History - Part 2