CDC Patient Assessment & Evaluation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A dental consultant reviewing records notes an ASA III classification for a patient. What does this indicate?
- A healthy patient with no systemic disease
- A patient with mild systemic disease
- A patient with severe systemic disease that limits activity (Correct answer)
- A moribund patient not expected to survive
Correct answer: A patient with severe systemic disease that limits activity
ASA III indicates a patient with a severe systemic disease that limits activity but is not incapacitating, such as poorly controlled diabetes or moderate COPD.
Question 2: Which radiographic finding on a periapical film is most consistent with a periapical abscess?
- Widened periodontal ligament space at the apex (Correct answer)
- Hypercementosis of the root
- Internal root resorption
- Condensing osteitis
Correct answer: Widened periodontal ligament space at the apex
A periapical abscess typically shows a radiolucent area at the root apex with loss of lamina dura and widened PDL space.
Question 3: During a comprehensive patient assessment, the Ramfjord teeth are used to assess which condition?
- Caries risk
- Occlusal stability
- Periodontal status as an index measurement (Correct answer)
- TMJ dysfunction
Correct answer: Periodontal status as an index measurement
The Ramfjord teeth (teeth 3, 9, 12, 19, 25, 28) serve as representative index teeth for periodontal epidemiological assessments.
Question 4: A patient presents with trismus, swelling, and a fever of 102°F. The dental consultant should recognize this as:
- Temporomandibular joint arthritis
- A space infection requiring urgent evaluation (Correct answer)
- Normal post-extraction healing
- Dry socket presentation
Correct answer: A space infection requiring urgent evaluation
Trismus with swelling and fever are hallmarks of a spreading odontogenic space infection, which may require hospitalization.
Question 5: What is the primary purpose of the fremitus test during occlusal assessment?
- To detect pulp vitality
- To identify teeth with fremitus during occlusal contact indicating mobility under load (Correct answer)
- To measure probing depths
- To assess salivary flow
Correct answer: To identify teeth with fremitus during occlusal contact indicating mobility under load
Fremitus testing detects tooth vibration during occlusal loading, identifying teeth with excessive occlusal forces or mobility.
Question 6: When documenting recession during patient assessment, which measurement is most clinically relevant?
- Distance from CEJ to the free gingival margin (Correct answer)
- Total attached gingiva width
- Probing depth alone
- Distance from mucogingival junction to bone crest
Correct answer: Distance from CEJ to the free gingival margin
Recession is measured from the cementoenamel junction (CEJ) to the free gingival margin, indicating how much root surface is exposed.
Question 7: In assessing a patient for dry mouth during a dental consultation, which objective finding is most diagnostic?
- Patient report of thirst at night
- Inability to float a cracker without water and frothy saliva (Correct answer)
- Pale pink gingiva
- High caries rate in posterior teeth only
Correct answer: Inability to float a cracker without water and frothy saliva
Clinical signs of xerostomia include frothy saliva, inability to eat dry foods without water, and sticky mucosa upon examination.
CDC Patient Assessment & Evaluation 3
A dental consultant reviewing records notes an ASA III classification for a patient.
What does this indicate?