Chapter 16. Methods of Examination in Dental Patients
8 topics with a brief review: definitions, key facts, and classroom questions.
Thorough examination is the foundation of any clinical diagnosis. In this chapter, we analyze how to properly take a patient history and examine a patient in the dental chair to avoid missing hidden pathology.
This section details basic (interview, inspection, probing, percussion, palpation) and supplementary diagnostic methods. You will study the specifics of clinical appointments in restorative dentistry, prosthodontics, and oral surgery. A separate block is dedicated to radiological imaging — the primary visualization tool for the dentognathic system.
During practical classes and exams, the evaluation focuses most strictly on basic examination algorithms, the ability to read dental radiographs, and the skill to reasonably select supplementary tests (e.g., electric pulp testing or thermal testing) for a specific clinical task. Moving on to treatment is impossible without a firm grasp of this foundation.
What complaints does a patient present with in asymptomatic periodontitis?
In chronic processes without pronounced pain, patients most often complain of the presence of a carious cavity, an aesthetic defect, as well as a change in the color, shape, or size of the tooth.
How to distinguish a physiological fold on the tongue from a fissure?
In a fissure, the integrity of the epithelial layer is always compromised. In a fold (which is easily revealed by spreading the tongue), the epithelium remains undamaged.
What does the examination of a dental patient always begin with?
Examination invariably begins with an interview. This allows you to establish a trusting rapport with the patient, take a medical history, and make a preliminary diagnosis.
In periodontitis, pain is strictly localized to the causative tooth and increases with pressure on it. In periostitis, pain extends beyond a single tooth and becomes diffuse across the jaw.
In periodontitis, pain is strictly localized to the causative tooth and increases with pressure on it. In periostitis, pain extends beyond a single tooth and becomes diffuse across the jaw.
How to identify inflammatory edema upon palpation?
Press on the swelling with the blunt end of the instrument. If a depression remains (pit sign), it indicates edema of inflammatory or traumatic origin.
Master the entire topic in the «Propaedeutics of Dentistry» course
This is a summary. The course covers everything tested in classes and exams.
868 pages of study guides for all topics
Assignments and quizzes after every topic — just like in a colloquium