507 - Oral Surgery Record Keeping within the General Dental Service - A Quality Improvement Project

O Jacob H Thomas
Presented by: Oliver Jacob
Community Dental Service Powys

Introduction:Wrong-site tooth extraction is the most common patient safety incident in dentistry and is an NHS “never event”, causing distress to the patient and dental team. Wrong-site tooth extraction occurs due to human factors including confusing notation and communication, failure to check referral letters and loss of concentration. Improving record-keeping may reduce the risk of wrong-site tooth extraction. This quality improvement project assessed compliance with local best practice record-keeping for non-surgical tooth extraction (NSTE) within the general dental service (GDS) and implemented interventions for improvement. Methods:Local record-keeping best practice for NSTE was defined using the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners ‘Clinical Examination and Record-Keeping Guidelines’ and the NHS local safety standards for invasive procedures (LocSSIP). A pilot study retrospectively audited NSTE records from 2 GDS dentists against local best practice and identified poor baseline compliance. A quality improvement project was then designed using a model of improvement, incorporating ‘plan, do study, act’ (PDSA) cycles. The parameter for improvement was for all NSTE records undertaken within the GDS to adhere to local best practice by August 2021. Potential Interventions were mapped on an ease-benefit matrix. A computerised custom template for NSTE record-keeping was chosen as the first intervention due to ease of implementation and likelihood of improved compliance. The template was made available to 11 GDS dentists and therapists at 3 clinics. Results:The first quality improvement cycle suggested using a record-keeping template improved compliance with local best practice in a GDS setting. At one month record keeping was improved across all domains with a significant increase in overall compliance with local best practice. Conclusion:Potentially safeguarding against wrong-site tooth extraction by adopting a local protocol and standardising communication.
Consent Statement: There are no details on individual patients reported within the abstract.

Poster
Poster Oral Surgery Record Keeping within the General Dental Service - A Quality Improvement Project