Pathways to providers of care - decision support

Pathways to providers of care

When a patient presents with an acute dental problem, the healthcare professional needs to be able to identify the nature of the problem to the extent required for them to provide initial management and to determine the appropriate provider of subsequent care. While many dental professionals are experienced in doing this, for less experienced dental professionals and other healthcare professionals, this can be particularly challenging. The decision support pathways presented in this section as flowcharts are primarily directed towards non-dentists, although they are of relevance to all users.

Most patients presenting with an acute dental problem will report pain and/or swelling, bleeding or injury due to trauma. Some patients may present with other symptoms, particularly ulceration, altered sensation or an abnormal lesion, lump or mark (abnormal appearance).

The flowcharts in this section illustrate the pathways to care providers for patients who present with dental problems. The start point is one of the following key presenting symptoms. 

• Pain (Section 3.1)
• Swelling (Section 3.2)
• Bleeding (Section 3.3)
• Trauma (Section 3.4)
• Ulceration (Section 3.5)
• Altered Sensation / Abnormal Appearance (Section 3.6)

It is recognised that a patient may present with more than one of these symptoms. In this case, the main or first reported symptom is used as the start point.