Dental Infection is a Major Problem in Indonesia: Retrospective Study in Emergency Department Attached to Dental Hospital

Aim: This study aims to evaluate the profile of patients’ characteristics attending the emergency unit of a university-based dental hospital during the first 2.5 operating years. Materials and methods: The data was collected from the medical records of all patients who attended the emergency unit of Airlangga University Dental Hospital between August 2017 and February 2020. Demographic data, including gender, age, the time of the visit, education level, employment type, and diagnostic information, were collected and analyzed. Results: A total of 920 patients visited the emergency unit of Airlangga University Dental Hospital. Saturdays had the most visits, and when combined with holidays, there was a significant difference between weekends and weekdays. The percentages of medical and dental complaints were 15.9 and 84.1%, respectively. Out of all the dental-related cases, infection was the most common (47.7%). Conclusion: Dental infections were the main reasons for an emergency unit visit. This data could be used to encourage relevant programs to reduce the unpleasant experience of an acute dental-related infection. Clinical significance: This research can be used to understand the distribution of patients according to their visits to the dental hospital so that hospitals can optimize hospital facilities according to their distribution.