Dissertation Abstract

A retrospective analysis of referral patterns for oral radiologic consultation

Objectives. To determine the types of practitioners who most commonly refer and the film type and diagnostic entities that are most frequently submitted for oral radiologic consultation. Methods. 430 referral letters and responses from two Ontario oral radiologists were analyzed. Data collected included: the specialty and graduation year of the referring practitioner, the film type(s) submitted, the radiographic density of the entity of interest and the interpretation by the radiologist. Results: General practitioners (58.9%) and oral surgeons (21.5%) were the most frequently referring practitioner types, representing 1.2% and 17.1% respectively of each group practicing in Ontario. Also, 18.2% of oral pathologists referred. Panoramic radiographs (79.5%) were included in referrals more often than intraoral radiographs (46.0%). 37.0% of entities were radiopacities, 27.4% radiolucencies and 13.5% mixed radiopaque-radiolucent density. 1n 22.1% of cases the density was not relevant. The radiologists interpreted normal features (55.6%) most often.

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