Implications of the changing medical profile of a dental school patient population.

Representative adult patient populations seeking treatment at a dental school in 1976 and 1986 were analyzed for the prevalence and the characteristics of medical conditions. Patients' records (N = 3,000) were randomly selected from the examination clinics and reviewed for the presence and types of compromising medical conditions. The results indicated a significant increase in the percentage of dental patients who had medical conditions in 1986 as compared with 1976 (P less than .001), as well as significant changes in the types of medical conditions present. These data indicate an increase in the number of patients with medical problems in the general dental school patient population.