1. What the medical history station is really about
In ADEX, the medical history OSCE is not a full internal medicine exam. It checks if you can gather essential information, recognise risk, and make a safe decision about dental treatment.
Examiners want to see that you are systematic, that you ask the right follow-up questions, and that you can clearly explain when you would continue, modify, or postpone treatment.
2. A simple structure for medical history in ADEX
Most examiners are satisfied if you think in a clear, repeatable pattern:
- Chief complaint and dental reason for visit.
- Past medical history – major diagnoses and hospitalisations.
- Current medications – dose, frequency, and indication.
- Allergies – especially to drugs and latex.
- Surgeries or recent procedures.
- Social history – smoking, alcohol, recreational drugs.
- Pregnancy status when relevant.
Always connect your questions back to dental care: “Does this condition affect your daily activities?” or “How well controlled is it?” are simple but high-yield.
3. High-yield red flags ADEX likes to test
Focus on the classic systems that change how you treat patients:
- Cardiovascular: history of MI, stroke, angina, heart failure, arrhythmias, valve disease.
- Anticoagulation: warfarin, DOACs, dual antiplatelet therapy – bleeding risk with extractions or surgery.
- Diabetes: control level, hypoglycaemia risk, healing issues, infection susceptibility.
- Respiratory: asthma, COPD, recent infections – ability to lie back, oxygen needs.
- Allergy: especially to local anesthetics, antibiotics, and latex.
- Pregnancy: trimester, radiograph precautions, positioning, and drug choices.
- Infectious risk: hepatitis, HIV, TB – standard precautions and when to delay elective care.
ADEX will often give you a brief description; your job is to identify why it matters for dentistry.
4. When to modify or postpone treatment
In OSCE questions, marks come from choosing safe and reasonable actions:
- Postpone: recent MI or stroke (within 6 months), unstable angina, uncontrolled BP, or active chest pain.
- Modify: adjust local anesthetic with vasoconstrictor, plan shorter appointments, or coordinate with the physician.
- Bleeding risk: follow current guidance for anticoagulants, use local haemostatic measures, avoid unnecessary surgical trauma.
- Diabetes: morning appointments, confirm food and medication intake, be prepared for hypoglycaemia management.
Examiners reward answers that show caution and willingness to seek medical clearance when unsure.
5. Common OSCE traps
- Ignoring a recent hospitalisation for cardiac or neurological events.
- Assuming “controlled” without asking about last check-up or readings.
- Forgetting to ask about blood thinners.
- Continuing with elective treatment despite clear red flags.
- Not documenting or summarising findings at the end.
A simple summary such as “This patient is medically complex and I would seek clearance before invasive treatment” can score points.
6. Fast memory points
- Always link medical conditions to dental risk.
- Cardiac, diabetes, and anticoagulation status are core topics.
- Unstable or recent serious events → delay elective care.
- When unsure, choose the safest conservative option.
- Summarise your assessment and proposed modification clearly.
How DentAIstudy helps
With DentAIstudy’s Study builder, you can generate:
- Medical history OSCE scenarios with different systemic conditions.
- Short notes linking diseases to dental treatment decisions.
- Flashcards on red flags and when to postpone treatment.
- Checklists for chairside medical history review.
References
- CDCA-WREB-CITA ADEX Candidate Manual – Medical History and Risk Assessment sections.
- Standard dental guidelines on treating medically complex patients.
- Common dental risk assessment frameworks used in clinical practice.