Emergency dental care from the perspective of general practitioner out-of-hours services

The general practitioner out-of hours services play a pivotal role in emergency primary medical care, but also frequently encounter patients with dental emergencies. In order to have a better picture of emergency dental care from the perspective of the general practitioner out-of-hours services, a survey was sent to all general practitioner out-of-hours services in the Netherlands (n = 103, 83% response rate). Respondents were asked about the organization of emergency dental care and its direct and indirect implications for daily operations. Analysis of the findings reveals significant shortcomings from the perspective of general practitioners regarding the accessibility, availability, and reachability of emergency dental care. Factors such as travel times and limited phone accessibility contribute to these issues. To improve the accessibility and quality of emergency dental care, cooperation with general practitioner out-of-hours services is essential, so dentists and general practitioners can support each other in managing patients presenting at the general practioner’s with dental emergencies.